"We are the generation that can pull the country out of backwardness," says Lula upon receiving support from prominent figures.
The meeting also served as an opportunity for the "Tearing Down Walls" group to deliver a manifesto in defense of democracy to the former president.
From Lula's website - Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and former Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin received the support of dozens of personalities from civil society on Monday (October 10th), including journalists, economists, businesspeople, political scientists, and political leaders, among others. At the meeting, the former president said that they all belong to a generation that can pull the country out of backwardness.
The meeting in São Paulo included names such as Aloysio Nunes, Zeca Martins, André Lara Resende, Priscila Cruz, Randolfe Rodrigues, José Aníbal, Eduardo Gianetti, Marcus Barão, Miguel Lago, Natalie Unterstell, José Aníbal, Pimenta da Veiga, Neca Setúbal, Philip Yang, Tereza Campello, and Marina Silva.
In his speech, Lula thanked the supporters and said he was optimistic about victory after the march in Minas Gerais on Saturday, where he gathered thousands of people. “That reminded me a lot of the Diretas Já rally. At the time, Tancredo Neves was saying: 'What are we going to do with these people?' There were so many people! And since I was having a lucky day, when I got to the stage, who was there? Chico Buarque. And that was the complete fulfillment of the event,” he said.
>>> 'Democracy isn't just about people shouting that they're hungry, that they have to eat,' says Lula.
Defense of democracy
The former president observed that Brazilian democracy is not going through a good moment precisely because the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, is a "denier of politics." Lula, on the contrary, defended dialogue as a way to improve Brazil, and guaranteed that he will lift the country out of backwardness and off the hunger map once again.
“We are facing a citizen who wants to increase the number of Supreme Court justices in order to control it. I have never appointed justices to help me, but rather so that they can fulfill the role of the Supreme Court,” he stated.
“This is not an easy election; we are not in a normal democratic process. I lost two elections to Fernando Henrique Cardoso and went home to cry. But this citizen is abnormal; he has had no civilized education and thinks of Brazil for himself—the Supreme Court, the Armed Forces, Congress—he thinks everything belongs to him. But we will recover this country; we will make society exercise democracy,” he warned.
Finally, Lula said that his dream is for people to have decent housing, to eat at least three meals a day, and for education to improve, creating more opportunities for everyone.
"Don't tell me that investing in education is an expense; education is an investment. We are the generation that can pull the country out of backwardness. I will need you not only as voters, but as leaders to pull this country out of the quagmire they've put us in," he concluded.
>>> Lula promises to eliminate income tax for those earning up to R$ 5.
Plurality
Alckmin took the opportunity to compare Lula to Mário Covas, for his democratic spirit and history of fighting for the poorest. “Brazil is a country of plurality, and our campaign reflects that. As Franco Montoro used to say, that's the logic of the second round [forming alliances]. Now there are 20 days of campaigning, everyone here is an opinion leader, and we have to accelerate, unite, fight, and win. Who will defend democracy if not the democrats?” he asked.
The long-time president of the PSDB party, José Aníbal, also declared his vote for Lula in this second round and recalled that Covas himself supported Lula against Fernando Collor – and time proved that that was the correct position.
“Brazil cannot sacrifice another generation; it would be a disaster. Education cannot be just talk; it has to be strong action. I know that Lula, who experienced this personally, managed to secure a position in the job market. I was born in Rondônia, and every time I see what happens in the Amazon, it makes me want to cry,” he lamented.
Pimenta da Veiga, another veteran member of the PSDB party who sided with Lula in the second round, said he took sides because he could no longer tolerate seeing inequality in Brazilian homes.
“Throughout my public life I have had long clashes with the PT. Nevertheless, at the time, I voted for Lula against Collor because I saw that at that moment there was a risk and we needed to overcome differences in political orientation. Today I am here in a similar position. I understand that we have an enormous institutional risk ahead of us and this should unite us, and this unity depends on the election of Lula as president. He likes the poorest, he understands the poorest, he wants to help them and he knows how to do it. That is why I came here to enlist in this fight, for his victory and for the victory of democracy,” he declared.
The Manifest
The meeting also served as an opportunity for the "Breaking Down Walls" group to deliver a manifesto entitled "Unavoidable Agenda" to Lula's campaign, which was drafted over the last three years by a hundred intellectuals.
The 75-page document presents “public policy proposals for a democratic Brazil with justice, prosperity, and hope” in various areas, such as education, health, public safety, the economy, geopolitics, and the environment. The group, which engaged in dialogue with several candidates in this election, also declared its support for Lula in the second round, considering Jair Bolsonaro an enemy of democracy.
"Bolsonarism has turned Brazil into an international disgrace. It has exacerbated the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. It has undermined the public structures of education, the environment, and science. The friendly and musical Brazil is gone, replaced by the image of aggressive motorcycle rallies, burning forests, and the insults of the President of the Republic," says an excerpt from the manifesto.
Subscribe to 247, Support via Pix, Subscribe to TV 247, in the channel Cuts 247 and watch: