Ferrez to 247: Huck gets more of an idiot every year.

247 - In an exclusive interview with 247, writer and cultural activist Ferréz, born and raised in Capão Redondo, in the far south of São Paulo, spoke about the increase in violence in São Paulo, especially in the periphery, and the social regression promoted by the Temer government. "A year after the coup against Dilma, the people are much poorer, working 24 hours a day to survive. And I see people saying: 'But if these people are so screwed, why don't they go to the streets?' Jesus! People can't go to the streets because they're cleaning rich people's houses, preparing food for the wealthy, sleeping late and waking up early. If someone goes to a protest, they won't be able to pay their electricity bill, which is five times more expensive."

Ferréz has never been so skeptical. "This is a government of destruction for the country. Misery in the periphery has increased, people have lost what little they had, of what was achieved during the PT governments. Meanwhile, the Temer government is paying 100 million reais in amendments to a single congressman." The writer, author of ten books, including "Capão Pecado" (2000), a classic of marginal literature, says that a union of left-wing movements is needed once again so that the periphery has representatives in Brasília.

"Lula was in Capão three weeks ago. We met him in a shack. Do you think that would be possible with someone like Michel Temer? Lula and Dilma were the only ones who talked to minorities, who opened the doors of universities to the poorest. And even so, I know people who are in university because of the PT's programs and curse the party. This happens because of the widespread process of demonizing the left carried out by the mainstream media. There was a massacre of the PT, which is still ongoing." Ferréz, however, affirms that the internet can be a powerful instrument of mobilization, especially due to the lack of credibility and audience of traditional media. "Television became a second screen a long time ago. I myself refused an invitation from a free-to-air television channel to come here, because I know I won't be treated like an imbecile."

Ferréz recalled the controversy he had with Luciano Huck ten years ago, when the presenter signed an article in "Folha de S. Paulo" complaining about the theft of his Rolex. In a short story titled "Thoughts of a Hustler," published in the same newspaper, the writer from Capão ended the text with a harsh reflection: In the end, everyone came out a winner; the victim kept what was most valuable to him, which is his life, and the hustler kept the watch. I see no reason to complain; after all, in an indefensible world, the deal was fair for both parties.

The article's impact was so great that Férrez suffered retaliation from all sides. He lost his program on TV Cultura and had all his lectures canceled. Summoned by the Public Prosecutor's Office, he spent a day in jail. "I was massacred. My father was outraged: 'My son, who was born and raised in the periphery, who had every chance to get into crime, and didn't, is now imprisoned for writing.'" In the end, it was suggested that Férrez pay the penalty with food baskets. "I refused. I've been doing social work since I was born, I don't do it as punishment." The writer runs an NGO with one hundred children in Capão. His publishing house has also opened its doors to new writers. They have already published 53 books by authors from the periphery.

Regarding Luciano Huck's possible presidential candidacy, a fact already admitted in articles by the presenter himself, Ferréz is categorical. "I've become more annoying over time. Luciano, on the other hand, gets more of an idiot every year. I don't buy anything he advertises. Nothing. His television program is pedantic, bizarre, and sad. He takes a father, who is a firefighter, and makes him balance on a can to win something in return. He never encourages people's virtues," says Ferréz. "If he runs, I will campaign against him every day, with all my strength."