Damous: "I'm taking office at a time of hatred and intolerance"

Rio 247 – The former president of the Brazilian Bar Association in Rio de Janeiro, Wadih Damous (PT-RJ), assumes the position of federal deputy for the PT this afternoon. "I am aware that I am taking office at a difficult time, marked by the predominance of hatred and intolerance and little appreciation for debate. And, modestly, I want to contribute to ensuring that this House continues to be a House of debate and democracy," he stated.

Currently, Damous is the president of the National Human Rights Commission of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB). He takes over the seat of Congressman Fabiano Horta (PT-RJ), who took leave from the Chamber of Deputies to assume the position of Secretary of Solidarity Economic Development in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Yesterday, the lawyer stated who would defend the interests of the legal profession in the Chamber.

Shortly before taking office, Damous emphasized this Tuesday, the 19th, that he will continue to champion the same causes he has always championed. "I will defend everything I have defended throughout my career: the fight of Brazilian lawyers, for human rights, for the legal order, for respect for the legal order of the democratic rule of law."

The newly elected Workers' Party congressman assures that he will firmly defend all constitutional rights to prevent setbacks such as the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility, currently under debate in the Chamber of Deputies. He has also expressed his opposition to Constitutional Amendment Proposal 215, which transfers the power to demarcate indigenous and quilombola lands to the Legislative branch. "Constitutional Amendment Proposal 215 violates not only constitutional principles, it violates the civilizational framework. We cannot legislate in favor of the extermination of indigenous peoples."

Political reform – Regarding the political reform underway in the Chamber of Deputies, Damous recalled that he comes from the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), "and there, along with more than a hundred other entities, we debated a political reform project. There are several important items that the National Congress should address, but what I consider most important is the prohibition of corporate financing of electoral campaigns."

Wadih Damous said that in Brazil, there is talk of fighting corruption and wanting to moralize public life, but the root causes and processes of corruption are never addressed. "And one of the causes, perhaps the main one, lies precisely in the way electoral campaigns are financed. These are corporate financings, and we know that no company donates for free. Companies invest. And in the business world, this is common. Now, in the world of politics, this quid pro quo game—investing today to gain something tomorrow—goes against the principles of morality, and that is why we advocate for the prohibition of corporate campaign financing," he stated.