Fátima Bezerra: memory of PT governments determines support for Lula in the Northeast.

World Opera - The re-elected governor of Rio Grande do Norte from the PT party, Fátima Bezerra, attributes Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's electoral advantage in the Northeast to the past of social inclusion promoted by the PT governments, but also to current policies that guarantee higher levels of food security in the region, in contrast to the hunger and misery prevalent under Jair Bolsonaro's government. 

“The past makes a very big difference and weighs heavily. It is what determines the position of the people of the Northeast to remain firm in resistance and struggle,” he stated in an interview with journalist Breno Altman on the program. 20 MINUTES this Thursday (06/10).

Re-elected to the position on Sunday (October 2nd), with 58,31% of the valid votes, Bezerra sanctioned and is complying with a state law requiring that at least 30% of government purchases must originate from family farming or the solidarity economy. 

Inspired by policies implemented by the Workers' Party administrations, this food production is allocated to public schools, the Unified Health System (SUS), and the prison system.

"Even with the widespread hunger epidemic in our country, fueled by the current government, Rio Grande do Norte has the majority of its population with food security, at 51,2%. It ranks first in the Northeast and fourth in the country," he says.

Contrasting the PT's past with Bolsonaro's present, the governor cites the current president's abandonment of programs aimed at job creation, increasing the minimum wage, supporting small farmers, and building cisterns, particularly in the Northeast: "The image that the people of the Northeast have of the PT governments is very deeply ingrained. This is not fantasy; it is the reality that we saw at home, on the farm, or in the city where we live."

According to her, a decisive factor in the solidity of the rejection of Bolsonaro in the Northeast is the treatment that the region's progressive state governments gave to the Covid-19 pandemic. In Rio Grande do Norte, the governor claims to have done exactly the opposite of what the president advocated. 

“We fought back. We hired 5.500 healthcare workers, of whom 2.800 are now permanent employees. Thank God, we saved about 16 lives in the state.” Another development indicator shows that Rio Grande do Norte was the most violent state in Brazil in 2018 and in four years it has become second in violence reduction. 

For his second term, Bezerra promises to give top priority to education, combating the digital divide that penalized students in Rio Grande do Norte when adopting remote learning during the pandemic. 

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