Leonardo Cardoso de Magalhães at the DPU: from intern to candidate for Public Defender-General.

 Throughout my nearly 15 years working as a federal public defender, I have faced numerous challenges, met expectations, and undertaken numerous projects aimed at transforming the unequal reality that discriminates against Black people, Indigenous people, migrants, victims of police violence, victims of human trafficking, victims of slave labor, and other vulnerable individuals, imposing a life of deprivation and obstacles to the exercise of their fundamental rights.

 The Public Defender's Office was conceived as an institution responsible for providing comprehensive and free legal assistance in a broad, rights-based, and multicultural sense. The Public Defender's Office is of the people and for the people, and in this context, it must prioritize the fight against gender, LGBTQI+, ethno-racial, social, and economic inequalities that hinder the exercise of rights by the vulnerable segment of society, specifically contributing to Brazil in transforming the theoretical plane of rights and opportunities into real equality.

 My journey at the Federal Public Defender's Office began as an intern in 2006. In 2008, I assumed the position of federal public defender and began developing projects in the areas of health and in the defense of victims of human trafficking and the prison population.  

 In 2013, during my Master's degree in Human Rights at the Pablo de Olavide University in Spain, having a more in-depth contact with the critical theory of human rights of Joaquin Herrera Flores and liberation theology, I realized, from within the institutional framework, that it is possible to play a role of resistance and give voice to social demands, especially those of people oppressed by the neoliberal order, with a view to their social empowerment and liberation from the classist shackles that prevent equal and non-hierarchical access to goods, services, and conditions for a dignified existence.   

At this moment, I reaffirm the more inclusive and less discriminatory aspect that the Public Defender's Office represents as an expression and instrument of the democratic regime.  

          In my master's degree, I addressed the role of the Public Defender's Office's collective action in serving the liberation of those oppressed by the capitalist system, under the guidance of the then National Secretary of Justice, Dr. Paulo Abrão. These studies continued with a doctorate, supervised by Professor Dr. Carol Proner, on the topic "The trafficking of transgender women between Brazil and Spain: a critical analysis based on Lévinas' ethics." In the academic field, in addition to publishing books and legal articles, I am notable for my participation in the 1st World Forum of Critical Thought in Buenos Aires (2018), with the work entitled "The challenges of the Public Defender's Office in the effectiveness of the fundamental rights of Venezuelan immigrants in Brazil: towards a just and dignified socioeconomic integration." I have been a member of the Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy since 2018.  

My professional career at the Federal Public Defender's Office has been marked by the performance of various administrative (support activity) and core (final activity) functions, with highlights including serving as vice-president of the National Association of Federal Public Defenders from 2009 to 2011, heading units of the DPU/MG and DPU/DF, serving as an elected member of the DPU Superior Council for two terms (2016-18 and 2018-20), member of the National Working Group for Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking, member of the DPU Coordination and Review Chamber, area coordinator, representative on health and human trafficking committees, and participation in a parliamentary group; Participation in public hearings in the National Congress, representation in international forums, hearings at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), effective participation in missions to combat slave labor, participation in prison task forces, member of the National Council for Combating Trafficking in Persons - CONATRAP/MJ, member of the Pop Rua DF Group, among others.  

 I served as Inter-American Public Defender at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2019-2022), with agendas that differed from the previous government, on issues such as police violence and lethality; structural racism; defense of the indigenous population, defense of homeless people, people deprived of liberty, among others.  

 On July 22, 2022, following the massacre in Vila Cruzeiro, Jacarezinho, and Complexo do Alemão, and the death of Genivaldo Santos, I submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights addressing the increase in police violence and lethality that occurred during the previous government's administration. I requested monitoring of the situation, reinforcement of preventative measures such as the use of body cameras on police uniforms, and a visit from the Commission. on-site visit of the IACHR.  

 It is necessary to confront mass incarceration and the ethno-racial and social profiling of police approaches and, in a way, the selectivity of the penal system that disproportionately affects black and vulnerable people.

 On another occasion, I submitted a written document to the Inter-American Court in Costa Rica regarding Inter-American standards for persons deprived of liberty (2021); I participated in the defense in the Complexo do Curado vs. Brazil case at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; in the defense of victims in the Massacre da Sé vs. Brazil case, which deals with the murder of homeless people; I acted in the Tapeba Indigenous People of Caucaia vs. Brazil case at the Inter-American Commission; in the Daniel Nitzsche Starling vs. Brazil case (criminal offense of contempt); in the Adolescents and Young People of the Provisional Detention Center (CIP - Goiânia) vs. Brazil case, which dealt with holding the Brazilian State responsible for the deaths of detained adolescents; I promoted coordination with the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) for the internal representation of victims benefiting from the Inter-American Court's judgment in the Favela Nova Brasília vs. Brazil case and in the Fazenda Brasil Verde vs. Brazil case; In addition to having prepared and submitted a technical note to the Federal Executive and Legislative branches in favor of the ratification of the Escazú Agreement on the environment (2021), I also prepared a technical statement on racial equality, submitted to the Superior Council of the DPU, regarding the access of Black people to management and institutional leadership positions.  

In those 15 years, I participated in 5 internal elections, being elected to the national association of public defenders (2009-2011), to the Superior Council (2016-18 and 2018-20) and to the formation of the shortlist for Public Defender General (2020 and 2022).

 During my first term as a member of the Superior Council (2016-18), I presented a favorable vote on racial and indigenous quotas in career entrance exams in 2016.  

 The DPU (Federal Public Defender's Office) was one of the pioneering bodies in defining quotas for indigenous people. I championed the leading vote in the selection of the first woman to chair the examination board for entry into the DPU.

 In 2020, during my second term, I was the rapporteur and presented a favorable opinion on establishing racial quotas for internships at the DPU (Federal Public Defender's Office) nationwide, resulting in the approval of resolution 157/20.  

 Combating racial and gender discrimination, and in particular advocating for these causes, has always been a part of my daily work as a public defender.  

 I have experience in defending and advocating for human rights, both nationally and internationally, and a vision focused on achieving true equality among people, especially on issues such as racial discrimination, protection of victims of violence, human trafficking, slave labor, Black people, women, quilombola communities, indigenous populations, migrants, refugees, and the promotion of gender equality/LGBTQI+ equality. I have participated in various actions of the Mobile Inspection Group against slave labor and in the defense of the Amazon against illegal mining and deforestation, in addition to having conceived projects to assist Venezuelan migrants; fostered international cooperation with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Mercosur bodies, etc.  

One example of these actions in human rights is the fight against xenophobia and the protection of migrants. In 2018, when assigned to Boa Vista/RR, I was responsible for state-level coordination in defense of Venezuelan migrants who were victims of xenophobia. This involved forwarding recommendations and administrative measures to mobilize police resources to protect migrants sheltered in Boa Vista/RR. I also conceived and coordinated four assistance projects for Venezuelans in partnership with UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and the European Union in 2017-18 and 2022. I was one of the originators of the Public Defender's Office's participation in Operation Welcome, for the regularization of undocumented migrant children and the prevention of human trafficking, and I participated in several public hearings in the National Congress on the promotion of the rights of Venezuelan migrants.  

 In 2019, while coordinating the Public Defender's Office located at the Screening and Identification Post in Pacaraima/RR, I received an official visit from members of the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The purpose of the visit was to present the Public Defender's Office's work in preventing the trafficking of migrant children and adolescents.  

Regarding collective action, I was responsible, among others, for the public civil action concerning H1N1 vaccination in Belo Horizonte/MG, in 2010; for the public civil action to allow students to take the entrance exam at UFMG in Belo Horizonte/MG after an error in the correction of the ENEM exam, in 2011; in a public civil action to defend the rights of employees hired by Caixa Econômica Federal, in 2019. I also participated in collective judicial hearings in Serra Talhada regarding the transposition of the São Francisco River, in 2011; and I acted in favor of the residents of Altamira/PA, in 2015, who were expropriated for the installation of the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant.

 Currently, I am responsible for the periodic outreach project in Quilombo Kalunga/GO, in partnership with CRAS and the Federal Court of Formosa, to provide comprehensive and free legal assistance to the vulnerable population, with the aim of implementing social security rights, access to health and social assistance, since 2018. This project has been transforming the local reality of the beneficiary communities, allowing people to access goods and services, restoring their hope for a dignified life full of rights.

 Regarding my role in monitoring public policies, I participated in public hearings in the National Congress on human trafficking, migration, and enforced disappearances; in international forums, such as the UN General Assembly session to evaluate the global plan to combat human trafficking, where I delivered the country's speech on one of the GA panels; in a conference at UNODC-Vienna; bilateral meetings at NCSEA in Washington at the invitation of DRCI-MJ; and hearings at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

 In 2022, I was included, for the second consecutive time, in the shortlist of three candidates to head the Federal Public Defender's Office. Besides being an honor to contribute to strengthening public policies in human rights and access to justice, the fact that I have held various positions within the administrative structure of the Federal Public Defender's Office has given me the technical capacity to manage this public institution in accordance with standards of transparency and public governance.

My previous technical and administrative experience, academic qualifications, and expertise in human rights will be combined to strengthen public policies on human rights in Brazil.  

 Therefore, my commitment is to bring the Public Defender's Office closer to the people who need it most; to promote permanent dialogue with the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches; to defend the Democratic Rule of Law and to collaborate, through the Public Defender's Office, in reducing gender, ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities and in the extrajudicial resolution of conflicts, through conciliation, mediation, among others.

It is also necessary to work towards a more united, technically sound, and professional Public Defender's Office; one that effectively upholds the rights of the needy population, focusing on highlighting the causes of extreme vulnerability and proposing alternatives to reduce poverty, hunger, and socioeconomic inequalities.  

 The Public Defender's Office must directly impact socially relevant and strategic areas where access is hindered by various structural factors. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen initiatives that guarantee access to basic rights, popularize access to the justice system, prioritizing extrajudicial conflict resolution; ensure a balance between the defense and the prosecution, preventing procedural abuses, with a view to a fair criminal process, without social profiling or mass incarceration of the Black and poor population, as well as expanding initiatives for gender and racial equality, and education in rights and combating disinformation and fake news, as strategies of anti-democratic discourse.  

Therefore, I consider it essential to bring social movements closer together so that, together, we can define institutional priorities, ensuring that management choices are the result of a shared, horizontal, and multicultural process.

 Over the next two years, the challenge for the next Public Defender General of the Federal Public Defender's Office will be to foster and contribute to the implementation of public policies on human rights, strengthen strategies and initiatives to reduce poverty and social inequalities, and promote a more inclusive, popular, and intercultural Public Defender's Office.