S&Ds stand by the Brazilian people and call on Bolsonaro to respect the Constitution (EN & PT)
Date
29 Oct 2018
Sections
Justice & Home Affairs
Brazilians went to the polls yesterday and elected a new president, with election results indicating that the winner is Jair Bolsonaro. With all respect to the Brazilian democracy and out of friendship with the Brazilian people, Socialists and Democrats call on the new president to respect the universal values of human rights and democracy and the principles enshrined in the Brazilian Constitution.
S&D Group president Udo Bullmann said:
“We are very worried by the prospect that a right-wing extremist, who admires the brutal military junta and stirs hatred against minorities, will lead the fifth largest country in the world. During the electoral campaign many Brazilian citizens took to the streets to say NO: a big NO to the authoritarian and discriminative rhetoric of candidate Bolsonaro; NO to his misogynist and homophobic views; NO to a politics of hatred and fear. We hope that Bolsonaro will abandon his extremist views, respect the Constitution and learn to behave and act as president for all Brazilians.
“We are also deeply concerned by the reports of the large-scale abuse of bots and algorithms to spread hatred and lies in the electoral campaign. This has to be a last wake-up call for democrats all over the word: We urgently need to fight online interferences in elections, otherwise the freedom and fairness of the democratic processes is at stake!
“We Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament stand by our Brazilian friends who fight to safeguard their democracy and the ideals of universality, equality and solidarity. We want to thank the candidate of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) Fernando Haddad who gained the votes of a large part of the Brazilian electorate. We also want to express our solidarity to former president Lula, who has done so much to improve the life of millions of his most vulnerable fellow citizens.”
Francisco Assis MEP, and European Parliament chair of the Mercosur Delegation and the S&D spokesperson on the EU-Latin America Parliamentary Assembly (Eurolat), said from Brazil:
“The election of a man for the president of Brazil who has never hidden his extreme-right convictions can only leave us deeply worried. The statements he made throughout the election campaign and throughout his political career run counter to the basic principles of the rule of law and are too serious to be erased or ignored.
“In contrast to his opponent, the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) candidate faced this electoral act with dignity and elevation. Fernando Haddad deserves to be commended for always being open to dialogue with the other democratic political forces and for his constant defence of the respect for democracy, freedom and human rights.
“The S&D Group will be attentive to the evolution of the political situation in Brazil and will unequivocally support the country's democrats.”