The appointment of the publicist to the federal government’s Communication Secretariat, which has the status of a ministry, is surrounded by problems. Although the Executive’s communication deficiencies were evident under , the solution found by is questionable and even dangerous.
To get straight to the point: the choice of the campaign marketer for the position suggests the configuration of a Ministry of Electoral Propaganda. Sidônio comes to add to the symphony of Lula’s campaign – or that of a possible PT replacement in .
Secom, it is worth remembering, was created during the military dictatorship by General João Figueiredo, and descends, as a centralized agency under the command of the Presidency, from an authoritarian line that takes us to the Department of Press and Propaganda, the infamous DIP, of .
The fact of belonging to this lineage does not condemn a priori, nor does it invalidate the role of the secretariat. Times are not the same and under , Secom has a role to play in accountability, public information and the transparency of government acts. At the moment, an example would be the public clarification about the wave of fake news around .
Sidônio, however, was appointed to other missions. It’s about promoting the government, selling it as a successful product, since it hasn’t been seen that way by a large part of the population.
He said in his inauguration speech:
“Information from services does not reach the end, the population cannot see the government in its virtues.”
Well, if that happens, the problem doesn’t seem to be just one of communication. The great improvement that Lula believes he is providing does not seem to excite so many. Maybe those who shop in supermarkets have something to say. And perhaps the PT leader didn’t quite understand that the world has changed, the demands have changed, the degree of excitement with those basic, classic achievements of the 20th century has changed.
Sidônio has already spoken out about , the statements and the danger of s on digital platforms. It reinforced the growing chorus on the left that it would only be acceptable in the public sphere to speak “the truth” and be in tune with “”. Otherwise, it is a manifestation to be silenced.
I ask: stating, as did and does, that the re-election of was one of democracy is not a fact? Obviously not. But the political dispute, the interpretation of realities and ideological options are not the terrain of objective truths. They are convictions, beliefs and opinions, which must circulate freely and compete in the debate for their triumph or defeat.
Sidônio from Bahia reminds us of Dr. Silvana de Lula and, who led the sordid campaign against in 2014 —according to which, in alliance with bankers, she would remove food from the people’s tables. In fact, Lula’s government minister has said more than once that “fake news wasn’t invented by , it was”.
It would be better if, instead of holding a ministry position, Sidônio worked for the PT, a private entity.
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