'The Judiciary is endorsing the return of hunger in Brazil,' says Friar Sérgio Görgen.
“Hunger, unemployment, infant mortality, epidemics, high cost of living, the price of gas, the price of food, of tickets. These are the main reasons that lead us to make such a sacrifice”; these are the words of Frei Sérgio Görgen, leader of the Small Farmers Movement (MPA), to explain the reason for his hunger strike which began on Tuesday (31) and is directed at the STF (Supreme Federal Court); Görgen and six other people are asking for the freedom of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
From Brasil de Fato - “Hunger, unemployment, infant mortality, epidemics, high cost of living, the price of gas, the price of food, of tickets. These are the main reasons that lead us to make such a sacrifice,” explains Frei Sérgio Görgen, leader of the Small Farmers Movement (MPA), and one of the six people who started this Tuesday (31) the hunger strike directed at the Supreme Federal Court demanding the freedom of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In an interview with Rádio Brasil de Fato, Görgen highlighted the importance of Lula's release for the recovery of democracy in the country: "So that this situation does not become even more acute, it is necessary for the country to return to democratic normality, for Lula to be released from prison. He is a victim of a fraudulent process, he is not guilty of what he is accused of, he is a prisoner without a crime, a political persecutee," Görgen stated.
The MPA member explains why several popular movements decided to take the initiative: “a hunger strike makes sense when all other means have been used and have not yielded results, which is the case in Brazil. The Justice system is blocking legitimate legal solutions that could and should have been taken.”
The member cited historical examples in which the measure was used in defense of human rights. “It’s nothing new or crazy; Martin Luther King went on a hunger strike, I’m on my fifth hunger strike, Jaime Amorim went on an 11 or 12-day hunger strike which resulted in him getting the settlement where he lives. In Brazil, political prisoners during the military dictatorship went on a 33-day hunger strike to get better conditions in prison; Dom Cappio went on a hunger strike to prevent the diversion of the São Francisco River from happening in a way that excluded the poor, or from draining the river beyond its capacity.”
According to the hunger striker, the responsibility for the worsening crisis in Brazil lies with the Judiciary. “Today, the Supreme Court is the only one that can resolve this situation, which is why the hunger strike is directed at the Supreme Federal Court. If anything happens to any of the strikers here, those responsible are the Supreme Court justices who voted against the habeas corpus that guarantees that no one can be imprisoned until they have been judged in the final instance, and Lula still has two instances to appeal the sentence.”