"We need direct democracy and a Constituent Assembly."

Weissheimer, South21 - The combination of instruments and practices of direct democracy with classic political representation should be one of the State's responses to the growing criticism and dissatisfaction, on the part of society, with the current model of political representation in force in the country. The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Tarso Genro, reaffirmed this position at the opening of the Seminar "Crisis of Representation and Renewal of Democracy", on the afternoon of this Thursday (5), at Palácio Piratini. The diagnosis of the exhaustion of this model was a consensus among the participants of the opening panel of the meeting who also pointed to the election of a Constituent Assembly exclusively for Political Reform as an indispensable measure to respond to what has been heard in the streets throughout the country.

During a press conference with bloggers from Rio Grande do Sul, attended by journalists and guests from other states, the head of the state's executive branch insisted on this point, noting that his government has been trying to implement a series of combined practices to address this crisis of political representation. "I believe we are doing something unprecedented in Rio Grande do Sul. This unprecedented nature comes precisely from the combination of various forms of participation: participatory budgeting plenary sessions in cities that have already gathered almost 100 people this year, participation through the Digital Cabinet, debates in the Economic and Social Development Council, and consultations with the population," Tarso cited. "These mechanisms are not yet perfectly refined, but they have had a highly positive result in breaking down the bureaucratic barriers that separate the State from the ordinary citizen," the governor added.

Tarso highlighted the use of digital mechanisms to ask questions of interest to the population, as was the case with the public consultation on Political Reform, the results of which were officially delivered to Deputy Manuela D'Ávila (PCdoB), representing the Rio Grande do Sul federal delegation. "This political act symbolizes, to some extent, the process of Political Reform that Brazil needs. Perhaps the government of Rio Grande do Sul was the one that most successfully connected with the streets during the recent demonstrations in June and July, through the tools of the Digital Cabinet. We need to expand these practices throughout the country," said Manuela upon receiving the document.

Political reform, as expected, was a central theme at the opening of the seminar. There was also a consensus on the diagnosis of the emptying of the political sphere and the action of parties in Brazil today. "To confront this crisis of legitimacy, we need to break down the barriers that separate the State from the ordinary citizen. There is evident discomfort and dissatisfaction with the current political order. Representative democracy is no longer sufficient to deal with this scenario," argued the governor of Rio Grande do Sul.

The path between diagnosing and solving the problem, however, is riddled with contradictions. In the press conference, Tarso Genro was questioned by bloggers about some contradictions in his government, such as the actions of the Military Police during the demonstrations and the allocation of the largest share of advertising funds to the so-called mainstream media. The governor admitted that these are, in fact, contradictions in his government, but stressed that these contradictions are intrinsic to the act of governing.

"I often ask far-left party activists what they would do if they were in government. They are sincere and answer that they don't want to be in government, but rather to destroy the state. I think that's a misguided position, but it's a political one. We have to govern, dealing with contradictions. These contradictions only exist for those who govern. In the case of media quotas, we cannot make an equitable distribution of these resources today because we would be penalized by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Auditors, which demands a distribution according to audience criteria. To change this, we need a law. We are trying to address this issue by diversifying the distribution of resources, but it is still unequal."

When questioned by an Italian journalist, Tarso reiterated his defense of the PT's refounding project, a proposal he launched in 2005 when he briefly held the party's national presidency. "The refounding project is merely dormant. Today it is more significantly represented by the political forces that make up the 'Message to the Party.' And history is proving us right. The PT is still the great hope of a democratic and socialist left in the country, but there is an undeniable risk of the party becoming too traditional, as was evident in the recent case of the replacement of Congressman Henrique Fontana by Congressman Vaccarezza in leading the debate on Political Reform in the Federal Chamber. This case made it clear that the refounding proposal needs to be revived."

The seminar on the crisis of representation proposes a debate on how the actions of the National Congress today have little to do with the fundamental issues of the country. "It's a permanent agreement to represent patchwork and regional and corporate interests. If this Congress is not profoundly renewed in the 2014 elections, and I think it won't be, I believe the proposal for a free, sovereign, and original Constituent Assembly for Political Reform will be on the agenda. The response given to the popular plebiscite proposal is further evidence that Congress today is a politically outdated instrument of representation," concluded the governor of Rio Grande do Sul.