Now, they want to prevent Dilma's candidacy for the Senate.

By Oleg Abramov, in Pautando.com.br - The acquittal of Gleisi Hoffmann, the release of José Dirceu, and the discrediting of Judge Moro in the electronic ankle bracelet episode are creating a feeling among many activists that "things are improving." I saw a lot of support for Lula's release at the Supreme Court a few days before Fachin canceled the trial in the 2nd panel of the STF at the end of June. Now there are those who renew their hopes in the presidency of Dias Toffoli. Having hope is very important; illusion is reckless.

When the crisis that culminated in the coup began, we saw the activists inert until it was too late. I remember the celebrations when Cunha was removed from the Chamber's Board of Directors and the "certainty" that the coup plotters would never get 3/5 of the votes from the deputies to initiate the impeachment process. What was true then remains true now. The illusion that institutions will automatically adjust to impartiality, equality, equal opportunities—that is, to the rules of the democratic rule of law—still contaminates the analyses and affects the political action of those who want the return of the progressive government in this year's elections.

In my humble opinion, this type of illusion is one of the components that prevents the understanding that the coup is gaining strength in Minas Gerais. If the threats against Pimentel weren't enough—threats that, I insistently repeat, could fatally strike democracy in different ways, whether through the governor's immediate removal or his electoral disqualification—a new, cunning trap is being prepared. At this moment, those who conspire against Pimentel want to prevent Dilma's candidacy for the Federal Senate. They argue that the impeachment in 2016 is itself connected to the suspension of her right to run for office. Even though it has already become evident that it was a coup, that there was no malice in the president's actions, and that the infamous "fiscal maneuvers" have been exposed.

Let's remember that when the impeachment was voted on in the Senate, the disqualification was decoupled from running for office for eight years. At the time, the decision generated the first major impasse between the Temer "government" and its allies, in this case, led by Renan Calheiros.

But from that moment on, nothing more was said about it. Only now, when Dilma Rousseff is doing well in the polls and has made her intention to take Aécio Neves's seat in the Senate public, are her opponents questioning her right.

Currently in Brazil, every relevant political scenario is marked by an anti-democratic aberration. This is because the coup-mongering zeal is inherent to the politics developed by the group that conspired in 2015-2016. The strategy of the Brazilian right has become a systematic anti-democratic operation. This is not an accident, a matter of particular predispositions, or fortuitous events; at this moment, all the politics developed by this faction, from Alckmin to Bolsonaro, passing through Meirelles and Rodrigo Maia, is based on the coup.

Look, they ousted the elected president, all the relevant popular leaders are being prosecuted, some of them are in prison, and the Workers' Party is equally besieged by lawsuits. The CUT (Unified Workers' Central) and its affiliated organizations are being financially undermined and weakened in the arena of Labor Justice by the changes implemented by Temer's reform, in a context of rampant judicialization of the workers' struggle. Meanwhile, in the electoral narrative, Lula remains imprisoned and several other PT candidates are on the ropes.

In Minas Gerais, Governor Fernando Pimentel is facing financial asphyxiation aimed at paralyzing his decision-making, while simultaneously being threatened in the legislative and judicial arenas, and now, attempts are being made to prevent the Workers' Party candidate from running for Senate.

In this context, there can be no illusion about the natural adjustment of institutions. There is no easy or automatic way out of the crisis. Only by imposing defeat will the coup retreat.

There is no room for delusions, much less for deception. A few weeks ago I wrote an article entitled: "Those who defended Dilma, defend Pimentel," and I believe that, in light of its recent developments, its relevance has been renewed. It is necessary to resist all fronts of the coup, demanding Lula's release, defending Governor Fernando Pimentel, and Dilma's right to run for the Senate.