Diversity marks act for democracy
Professors, students, lawyers, unionists, businesspeople, economists, social movement leaders, and several others representing the society promoted Thursday in São Paulo two consecutive acts in defense of democracy and the democratic rule of law. The events took place inside the Law School of the University of São Paulo (USP), downtown.The several speeches in the morning were marked by harsh statements against authoritarianism, against setbacks in social policies, in defense of the Brazilian electoral system, the electronic voting machines, the Electoral Justice, and the Constitution.The double demonstration was organized as a response to the recurring threats made by the President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party, PL), a candidate for reelection, and his most vocal supporters.The reading of two pro-democracy letters — each in a different room of the college — was followed by thousands of supporters crowded together in both locations. Despite the cold weather and the rain, the transmission on a big screen was watched by hundreds of other people in the square Largo São Francisco, just outside.When reading the documents, it was clear that the organizers were careful to prevent the event from becoming a partisan movement. No candidates, politicians in office, or party leaders were invited to speak. There were also no party flags.In the first act, the manifesto called "In defense of democracy and justice," led by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), was read. This letter was signed by at least 107 institutions including unions, universities, and NGOs.The text was read by legal expert José Carlos Dias. Before doing it, he spoke about the emotion of the moment and remembered the time when he helped to write a similar letter against the military dictatorship, in 1977."Today is another great moment when capital and labor come together in defense of democracy," he said. "We are celebrating here with joy, with enthusiasm, the anthem of democracy."Speakers included professors, unionists, leaders of popular movements, businesspeople, and lawyers. Horácio Lafer Piva, a former president of Fiesp, and Armínio Fraga, former president of the Central Bank, shared the microphone with Telma Aparecida, president of the confederation of trade unions CUT-SP, Beatriz Lourenço do Nascimento, of the Black Coalition for Rights, and Raimundo Bonfim, of the Central of Popular Movements and Popular Brazil Front, among others."We have the...
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