Today's Brazil wants
peace not turmoil Brazilians are naturally peaceful
and dislike tension and sudden change.
The TFP asks: how far will the left take the country?
The lights are out and the last sounds of Christmas and New
Year’s parties have faded. Also gone with them are the
swearing-in celebrations for the new President.
Brazilians return to their daily affairs with the perspectives,
hopes, concerns and uncertainties the future holds in store.
As the new administration sets in, the media work overtime
to spread a climate of euphoria. However, in their homes,
workplaces and in the street, average Brazilians, quick and
intelligent, silently await with a pensive, concerned, and
at times even suspicious silence, the new directions the country
is about to take. One persistent question is on their mind:
just where is the left going? Where is it taking Brazil?
The TFP deems it its duty to present some reflections on
the political, social, economic, cultural and even religious
issues brought to the fore with the rise of the new government.
The ballots’ results do not reflect support
for a leftist ideology
From the outset it seems important to emphasize an aspect
of the election results: in spite of the left’s significant
and undeniable advance, it would be dangerously hasty and
erroneous to conclude from Mr. Luís Inácio Lula
da Silva’s victory that an overwhelming part of our
electorate support a leftist ideology. This lack of support
is recognized, incidentally, by leading figures of the left
both within and outside the Workers’ Party (PT).
As a matter of fact, in our country, leftism as an ideology
is not a phenomenon of the masses except to a very small extent.
It is mostly a dysfunction found in plush residential neighborhoods,
exclusive clubs, some powerful macrocapitalist circles, and
in numerous sacristies and universities.
Voters were given no alternative to the left
For the ballots’ results to be interpreted objectively,
let us not forget that our voters were presented with a slate
which was strictly limited to the left. The differences between
candidates were mere nuances.
A large number of articles and statements by influential
political commmentators and public figures attest to this
narrowing of electoral choice caused by various circumstances,
some of which are somewhat obscure.
The PT’s votes and those of its presidential
candidate are out of step
In addition to this unforgivable distortion of the electoral
process, it is well to note the striking contrast between
the results obtained by Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
and those attained by his party, the PT.
The PT’s defeat in the race for state governorships
is conclusive: the electorate did not vote for the PT’s
socialist ideology.
“Brazil voted for Lula, but not for the PT,”
said an editorial in a large São Paulo newspaper. And
it added that “Lula’s crushing victory corresponded
to a crushing defeat of the PT in the states” (“O
Brasil votou em Lula, não no PT,” Jornal da Tarde,
10/29/2002).
Brazilians are naturally peaceable and reconciling
and reject acute tensions and abrupt change
In order to understand in depth Mr. Luís Inácio
Lula da Silva’s victory, one must take into account
a psychological trait characteristic of our people.
Without a shadow of doubt, Brazilians are one of the most
cordial and affectionate peoples on earth. Getting along peacefully
in a cordial and even friendly atmosphere is, for us, a necessary
condition for well-being.
This explains a certain ideological immobilism of our people,
who always cling to the hope that, in the end, through some
unexpected pass of diplomacy, everything will be resolved
without a fight. Hence, the propensity of our electorate to
opt for a new formula they believe can lead them to a prosperous
situation marked by free and easygoing political play, always
peaceful and amenable.
Thus, from top to bottom, average Brazil, sensible Brazil,
authentic Brazil rejects the throes of class struggle as a
solution to possible injustices that are inherent to the human
condition.
We believe the administration now taking over will not lack
enough perspicacity to recognize that a hasty implementation
of leftist measures is a highly risky proposition. And it
would be particularly risky to implement some measures that
were well disguised and even left out of the platform during
the election campaign.
The new leaders need to know how to listen to the
profound longings of the Nation
Having been a union leader for many years, Mr. Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva learned to listen – a talent he likes
to point out with explicable pride.
In fact, for a head of state, knowing how to listen is often
a more subtle art form than knowing how to speak.
But knowing how to listen is not merely or primarily paying
heed to those who, flush with the enthusiasm of a political
victory, clamor for the implementation of their most extreme
ideological designs. This is all the more so since such designs
are often removed from the common wishes of the population.
They must also know how to hear silence - the silence of a
majority that can be, at times, very eloquent as well.
In a democratic regime as ours, it is important
to listen to dissonant voices
Listening to silence is very important and even fundamental.
But there is more. One must listen also to the opinions of
those who disagree, provided they do so with due respect for
democratic principle and the rule of law.
Always faithful to its primeval ideals, the TFP has continuously,
heroicallly and publicly endeavored to defend the interests
of Christian civilization in our country through changing
political regimes.
At the present juncture, facing the possible implementation
of policies it may deem contrary to Christian principles and
therefore detrimental to the real interests of Brazil, the
TFP proposes to make heard the apprehensions and longings
of a large number of Brazilians – even those who do
not agree fully with its positions.
Since Mr. Luís Inácio Lula da Silva was led
to the presidency by an intrinsically democratic grassroots
movement – that is, within the rule of law in which
absolutely every Brazilian’s right to speak out and
act is proclaimed, we hope this stance of the TFP will be
welcome.
If this right of the TFP were not recognized, our democratic
regime would be transformed into a mere political fiction,
a dictatorship in disguise.
The danger of a consensus that belittles or stamps
out dissent
Yet another reflection is appropriate here. Much has been
said and written about the need for a consensus so that Brazil
is able to overcome its difficulties and crises.
However, here also the new president and his men will have
to proceed with extreme caution. In fact, it would be harsh
to establish in today’s Brazil a consensus that stamps
out free debate; an excluding consensus that marginalizes
those who disagree with it on one or more points.
We spoke of our people’s cordiality. This same cordiality
gives Brazilians an extreme dislike for rough or violent treatment
of ideological or political adversaries. A consensus that
becomes polemic and intractable can lose its popularity and
be perceived as a form of extremism.
A lucid warning: “Today’s Brazil absolutely
wants peace”
Nothing could be more timely to conclude these thoughts than
quoting the words of TFP founder, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira,
in political circumstances similar in many ways to the present
ones. With an accurate and sagacious political vision and
an acute sense of observation of our people’s innermost
fibers, and with authentic Christian patriotism, he wrote:
“If the left hastily tries to fulfill the egalitarian
and levelling ‘popular’ demands that led it to
power; if it becomes bitter and peevish on being criticized
by the opposition; if it resorts to legislative and administrative
tricks or police violence to persecute its adversaries, Brazil
will feel frustrated in its longings for an easy-going and
worry-free administration. In a first move, people will distance
themselves from the left. Next, they will become resentful.
And, finally, they will become furious. The left will have
lost its bid for popularity. (...)
“Today’s Brazil absolutely wants peace. If a
triumphant left is unable to deliver this peace, it will vanish.
For their part, if the center and right are unable to carry
on their struggle in a climate of peace, they will vanish
as well. (...)
“This is not an hour for smirks but rather for open,
polite, logical and intelligent discussion. Peaceable people
tolerate everything so long as their peace is not disturbed.
If it is, they can easily become ferocious...” (“Be
Cautious with the Peaceable,” in Folha de São
Paulo, 12/14/1982).
* * *
The TFP - praying to Our Lady Aparecida for
the new president’s administration - asks the glorious
Queen of Brazil to maternally and decisively intervene so
that our country, amidst the uncertainties and apprehensions
about its future, may remain faithful to the Christian principles
that inspired its founders.
São Paulo, January 1, 2003
The National Council of the
Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and
Property — TFP
Lula
Fooling the World Lula's party covered up its
historic radicalism during the
elections, but now in power is
gradually re-nationalizing formerly
privatized assets.
Brazil
says NO to Gun Control - October 27, 2005
The international left was monitoring with great expectations the results
of Brazil’s weekend referendum on a nationwide ban on the sale of
guns and ammunition. A Yes vote would have been celebrated as a victory
for gun control not only in Brazil but worldwide.
