The National Center for Liberation Theology denounces attempts to disqualify Renato Freitas.

247 - The National Center for Liberation Theology released a petition denouncing initiatives proposing the removal from office of Paraná state representative Renato Freitas, from the PT party. 

The legislator is frequently targeted for persecution because of his political stances in defense of the rights of the Black population. It is worth remembering that Freitas was elected with strong support from marginalized communities and organizations linked to the rights of Black people.

The petition from theologians can be signed below:

Why do they want to revoke Renato Freitas's mandate?

https://www.change.org/RenatoFreitas

The 2022 elections in the State of Paraná had a result that will mark the history of that State, and perhaps, of our country. Originating from the same place, some diametrically opposed characters coexisted. On one side, all the sewage resulting from the "Farce-Task" of the Lava Jato prosecutors and the garbage produced by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba. On the other, almost simultaneously, a young lawyer emerged, black, from the periphery, with an afro hairstyle, sometimes with his African braids, rising from the ashes originating from the pain and joys of this same land, named Renato Freitas.

Sharp-tongued and quick-witted, a survivor of the tragedies that form a mountain of corpses buried every day on the outskirts of large Brazilian cities, corpses that don't scream, don't complain, don't blink, only leave a trail of untold stories and suffering of those who place their bad luck in not surviving in this dog-eat-dog world in God's hands, a world that, in the year 2022 alone, produced a 

Then emerges an indignant figure! A rebellious young man with a capacity reminiscent of Martin Luther King's way of speaking, only this one is a son of the South American tropics. He doesn't believe in the peace of cemeteries and says he refuses to accept the fate they want to impose on him. The fate of his family and his unfortunate brothers and sisters. Contrary to statistics, he speaks profoundly inconvenient truths, which the liars insist on denying, truths that are rubbed "in their faces," clearly and undeniably. All that remains for them is the rhetoric of war and threats of revoking the mandate of anyone bothered by the coherent force of words.

Renato Freitas doesn't conform to what's comfortable, he doesn't accept the standards of his bosses, he doesn't compromise the dignity of those he represents. He is a rebel whose most unsettling characteristic is exposing the hypocrisy of the elite, pale with rage at seeing a Black man occupy a place not reserved for him, in an environment where people like him should only enter to clean, fix, and arrange. Renato is unsettling because the legislative environment was neither conceived nor planned for those who, like him, with their bold and courageous positions, could access it.

Parliament is a space designed for the bourgeoisie. The first "sovereign" Brazilian Constituent Assembly was established in 1823 and became known as the "Manioc Constitution," because, according to it, only those who had a certain income equivalent to 150 alqueires of manioc flour could be voters or candidates. This Constituent Assembly was dissolved by Dom Pedro I, and the 1824 Constitution was subsequently enacted.

This was how the Brazilian elite conceived of the Legislative Branch. It was, and continues to be, designed to defend the interests of the agrarian elite and slave labor. Currently, these remain the priority; the difference is that now they also defend the rights of large corporations, taking away rights from the working class. This 1824 Constitution, in fact, innovated by transferring responsibility for this enslaved "labor force" to the State.

According to the book 1822, by journalist and researcher Laurentino Gomes, in that year Brazil had approximately 4,5 million inhabitants, including: 1 million whites, 1,2 million enslaved Africans and their descendants, 800 indigenous people, and 1,5 million smaller groups resulting from miscegenation between the previous groups. In other words, almost 80% of the Brazilian population at that time was non-white.

The elite, composed of important and powerful people for whom Parliament was designed, were known as "good men." The responsibilities of parliamentarians in Imperial Brazil were similar to those in Brazil today. They dealt with issues such as supplies, salaries, and taxes. They also made decisions about war or peace with indigenous peoples.

So, the rule was clear. Very clear! To be eligible for the imperial office, candidates had to present proof of an annual income of four hundred thousand réis. In 1846, the requirement rose to eight hundred thousand réis annually, then, in 1881, it returned to four hundred thousand réis. And what does that mean? Nothing… the only difference is that, nowadays, there is no requirement for the candidate to present proof of income with a minimum value. 

Two hundred years have passed – and see if it is or is not an affront to this elitist State – to have a black, poor parliamentarian, originating from the periphery, coming from the modern slave quarters, also known as favelas, and to have the courage and audacity to say that the police kill and mistreat black and poor young people from these same peripheries. This is the State that the audacious and freed Renato Freitas is questioning. 

Two hundred years later, how can a Black man in Curitiba have the audacity to be a lawyer? And it's no use. The police simply don't accept this as possible and throw Renato, the insolent Black man, into the place they've reserved for him: the back of a police van. Then, in anger, they are forced to see that yes, he is a lawyer, and his prerogatives will be guaranteed, however inconvenient this may be for the elite legal professionals of Curitiba. It destabilizes the police officers, who act like dogs that have learned to sniff out Black people and, at best, throw them in the back of a police car. If there are no witnesses, the death penalty is the verdict of a trial that doesn't need to exist. It's preconceived!

How can we accept that this same black man has the audacity to question the system from within a City Council of a state capital in this country, which has a majority black population and a minority white population, which nevertheless dominates its elite position in politics, economy, media, religion, police, and academia? Obviously. Someone who questions the deaths of black and poor people from the outskirts of Curitiba cannot hold office.

Dismissed from office, Renato rebels, his voice resonates, and the City Council no longer suits him. He rises above the petty moralists, the cowardly legislators, the diminished politicians of Curitiba, and reaches another level. Renato Freitas is an unarmed man, but not a heartless one. His spirit shakes all spheres of power. Thus, he was elected again. Now, as a State Representative for the state of Paraná. 

And in their first speeches, they couldn't contain themselves and have already filed a request to revoke the mandate of one of the most iconic parliamentary mandates currently active in Brazil. His ability to explain complex issues simply makes the elite hate him even more, and, very quickly, they are plotting again against the most legitimate, upright, inconvenient, rebellious, and necessary parliamentary mandate in the State of Paraná.

And this doesn't mean there aren't other honest and necessary mandates, but none are as troublesome and rebellious as Renato Freitas's mandate today. Five years ago, there was another mandate like that in Rio de Janeiro. Her name is Marielle Franco, currently a martyr for the cause of Black men and women in Brazil.

The bourgeoisie is not bothered by honest people. They try to corrupt honest people and, when they fail, they simply isolate them. They are also not bothered by those who are necessary. Even the elite agrees on the need for those who remind them that they need to have dignity, although being dignified doesn't bring them money. But if there's one thing the white elite, the "good men," represented by all the exploitative sectors of society, past and present, cannot tolerate, it is mandates that are bothersome because of their insubordination. That's what the elite cannot accept!

Renato needs protection, and his parliamentary mandate offers him a better chance of obtaining that protection. However, our fragile democracy needs Renato's continued presence in politics even more. After all, it is the dissenting voices against the status quo that strengthen our democracy. They want to remove Renato from office because, without a mandate, it's easier to silence him permanently. 

Fascists will not prevail!

Brazil, March 2023

National Center for Liberation Theology