Fernando Morais to Bahia 247: 'Education is the only thing that will save Brazil'

Matheus Morais_247 - The yellow-rimmed glasses don't hide the attentive gaze of journalist and writer Fernando Morais. Author of books such as Chatô, the King of Brazil; Olga; The Island; The Magician and, more recently, The Last Soldiers of the Cold War, he seems more like that old friend (that almost everyone has) and can spend hours chatting without looking at the clock, sitting at a bar table. But it was between autographs, surrounded by dozens of readers, that Morais spoke with Bahia 247. We talked about books, Fidel Castro, ACM, Dilma, José Serra, the Nobel Prize and much more. It's worth checking out!

Brazil 247 – Do you enjoy these events that promote encounters between authors and their audience?

Fernando Morais – I like it! It's good because it's one of the few occasions when we can meet – a book author doesn't know who their reader is. The person goes to the bookstore anonymously, buys the book, and goes home. So, being able to talk to people who ask questions about one book or another shows the reader's feelings about the work; that's really cool.

Brazil 247 – Who are you waiting for to die before publishing the biography of Senator Antonio Carlos Magalhães?

FM – Actually, I'm waiting for the deceased to cool down, because ACM is still very much alive, his specter is still very present, he hasn't died yet. I have something nobody else has: recordings from the last nine years of Antonio Carlos's life and 192 folders from his personal archive (given to me by his family) which are pure gold. My condition for the book to be written was that he wouldn't receive the originals after it was finished – that way he couldn't interfere in anything, he would read the biography like any other reader. I made the proposal and ACM asked me for fifteen days to think about it and then agreed, saying he didn't regret anything he had done. We had many meetings, most of them here in Salvador, in São Paulo and abroad (he didn't like recording our interviews in Brasília). Then he started inventing trips abroad just to meet and talk to me. Thus, the material became extensive with unbelievable things. Antonio Carlos may have been the only Brazilian politician who lived through the history of the country from Juscelino Kubitschek to Lula always as a protagonist or witness to power. So, readers shouldn't wait any longer for the book; it will be available soon.

Brazil 247 – What are your next projects?

FM – I had thought about doing ACM's biography now, when I finished this last book, but now I'm already working on Lula's. Actually, I have two stories to tell: either it will be something about Lula, or something about the death of President João Goulart, but it definitely won't be a biography. These are two projects I can't postpone, unlike ACM's story. In the latter case, I have material that nobody else has.

Brazil 247 – And will the book about Lula be a biography?

FM – No! Since I like to use expressions from the youth, which they understand better, then, I'm not dating Lula, I'm seeing him (laughs). Probably, what will come out of these meetings we're having are stories from his government, from his eight years in office, but not a bureaucratic history: a history from the perspective of the people whose lives were changed by Lula's government policies, but with behind-the-scenes stories from his own account. Lula was the best president the country has ever had.

Brazil 247 – Has any filmmaker ever approached you about buying the story from your most recent book, 'The Last Soldiers of the Cold War', and turning it into a film?

FM – Yes! The story was sold even before the book was finished. In fact, it was thanks to the sale to the film that I was able to finish the book – because the money had run out and the book was very expensive: it involved international travel, hotels, food, taxis, all that... Then the money ran out and I risked not dying on the beach, but in the middle of the sea (laughs). I sold the story to a film investor and, with the money he paid me for the adaptation, I was able to finish the book.

Brazil 247 – To whom was the story sold?

FM – It went to Rodrigo Teixeira – he's not from the film industry, he's a film investor: he's the one who hires directors and such. But the story has already been sold and the film should be a co-production with the United States. In fact, I just finished a synopsis of the book that was translated into English and will be passed on to American producers who are interested.

'The internet is a hellish thing. You read a newspaper the next day and realize you already know everything.'

Brazil 247 – We were talking about Lula, what comparison would you make between the government of the former president and the current one, Dilma Rousseff?

FM – There are no differences between the two governments; they are from the same family, they are branches of the same tree. I campaigned for Dilma, and I only campaign for those I believe in. That's why I once said that I don't campaign for Serra. I've known him for 30 years, and I don't believe in him: Serra is a predator, a destructive individual; he has no friends – he's the only politician I know who doesn't have friends, and every politician has a group. Besides, I also have personal reservations about him.

Brazil 247 – You were once the Secretary of Culture and Education for the State of São Paulo. What analysis would you make of these two areas in Brazil today?

FM – It could be better! My expectation is that the resources coming from the pre-salt oil reserves can be fundamentally applied to education. Education is the only thing that will save Brazil, there is no other, there are no two, there are no three – either we have a revolution in Brazilian education, or we will continue to be a country of underdogs.

Brazil 247 – What is your opinion about the Minister of Culture, Ana de Hollanda, who has been heavily criticized lately?

FM – I like her a lot, she's my friend!

Brazil 247 – And what about her work?

FM – I haven't been following her work at the Ministry of Culture very closely. I've spent the last few months buried in finishing this book and now, more recently, in its launch. But I like her very much, I admire her, I think she's a serious person and well-suited for the position she holds.

Brazil 247 – Why has Brazil never won the Nobel Prize in Literature?

FM – I don't know why he never won, but the country only has one writer worthy of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, and his name is Jorge Amado. Jorge deserved to have received the prize, and I truly don't know if they award the Nobel posthumously – but, if this possibility exists, and it might, Jorge Amado is my candidate, of course!

Brazil 247 – You are a journalist who came from the newsrooms of traditional print newspapers such as Jornal da Tarde and Folha de São Paulo. What is your opinion on digital journalism?

FM – The internet is a hellish thing, isn't it? Because you read a newspaper the next day and discover you already know everything. This reminds me of a prophetic verse by Gilberto Gil, from one of his songs from 1960 (the song is called Domingou) which says: "The morning newspaper arrives early, but it doesn't bring what I want to know, the news I read I already know, I knew it even before reading it...". Serra is a predator, a deleterious individual. He's the only politician I know who has no friends.

FM – At the time, we were living under a military dictatorship in Brazil, and the last thing Fidel wanted was to talk to people connected to the dictatorship. On my first trip to Cuba, he didn't give me an interview, but he spoke to me and said, "When I think the atmosphere is right to give an interview to a Brazilian, you will be the chosen one." And that's exactly what happened: two years later, I returned to Cuba to do a cover story for Veja magazine with him, a 12-page article.

Brazil 247 – Would the Cuban regime change significantly if Fidel died now?

FM – Fidel will never die!

Brazil 247 – And what about the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez?

FM – No way! We have to knock on wood and pray for President Chávez's health. I'm a staunch Chavista, I was even going to write his biography, but Bob Fernandes (journalist) got there before me and stole my interviewee (laughs).