If democracy is the civilized meeting of divergent ideas, an example of the concept in action took place in the debate at the Museum of Image and Sound, in , on Wednesday night (22).
A, from the Record group, brings together 40 articles by essential names in the national political discourse published by in the four decades since the country’s redemocratization, accompanied by unpublished texts by 40 intellectuals invited to comment on the originals.
And the democratic clash was taken to a metalinguistic level when the speakers on stage were provoked to give their opinion on an editorial decision taken by the publication itself: to include an article by the former president (), now arrested and convicted by the Federal Supreme Court for leading a coup plot against the Brazilian State, entitled.
The text, published in the Trends/Debates section of Sheet on November 10, 2024, it was published alongside an article by the newspaper’s editorial director, , which is titled “Adolf Hitler in Sheet“.
Faced with the question from the mediator, the special reporter, the debaters were divided. The lawyer, newspaper columnist and law professor at FGV, and the former minister (), now secretary of Government and Institutional Relations for the administration (Republicans), responded without hesitation that they would also publish the article.
The writer Luciany Aparecida, winner of the São Paulo Literature Prize for the novel “Mata Doce”, and the indigenous activist who is also a columnist for Sheetsaid after some reflection that they would not publish Bolsonaro’s text, if they were responsible for making the decision.
In his opening speech, Dávila read a paragraph that helps to illuminate the discussion — the one that heads the section, created 49 years ago by journalist Claudio Abramo, who then ran the newspaper.
“Articles published with a byline do not reflect the opinion of the newspaper. Their publication has the purpose of stimulating debate on Brazilian and global problems and reflecting the different trends in contemporary thought”, reads the brief text printed every day at the top of the fourth page of the newspaper’s printed edition.
“This pluralism of ideas would end up being one of the pillars of the Folha Project”, stated Dávila, in reference to the set of principles and norms that have guided the newspaper since the command of Octavio Frias de Oliveira, followed later by his sons, who died in 2018 after 34 years as editorial director, and, current publisher of Sheet.
“Since then, more than 150,000 articles have been published. It is a compendium from A to Z of all the ideological, cultural and behavioral nuances that at some point formulated something that mattered to Brazil, whether because of its projection as a country, or because of the rejection that its ideas provoked.”
As an example of this plurality, Dávila highlighted that all eight presidents of the Republic since redemocratization have signed articles in the section now contained in the book, from José Sarney (MDB) to (PT).
It is a breadth of ideological spectrum that was also demonstrated in this Wednesday’s debate — and which is constantly expanding. Columnist Txai Suruí, for example, recalled that indigenous voices were so marginalized throughout history that they reached the point of dehumanization.
“It seems that we are still the other, that we are not part of this country, despite being from here. We see massacres every day and it seems that no one is watching. We are entering politics, at the COP, wanting to make ourselves heard and build this democracy together.”
It is still not a space that “we feel is ours”, said the young indigenous leader, pointing out a certain embarrassment with “the difficult way people speak”. “But the majority of Brazil has to discuss democracy in a way that they understand.”
When asked a question about , which is defended by the Lula government and has just been authorized by Ibama, he responded that it is an “environmental crime” that will affect not only that territory, but those who live there. “And who will get rich from this? Companies.”
Secretary Gilberto Kassab, asked to comment on the same subject, stated that he does not classify the measure as indispensable, but “if it occurs within 100% adequate standards in environmental preservation, it could be favorable to Brazil”.
It was just one of the disagreements on stage. When the mediator brought up the amnesty for those convicted on January 8, the PSD leader stated that the debate on the issue in Congress “is healthy” because it “contributes to a more pacified country”, even though he avoided talking about whether or not he was in favor of its approval.
“This discussion and the directions that will be the result of it contribute to the coordination of the relationship between the Powers, which is off track, with an invasion of competence”, he stated. “This is not due to coordinated action by a Power, it is the result of a lack of understanding, when the Legislature invades the Judiciary’s field and vice versa.”
Kassab took the opportunity to point out some measures that, according to him, would improve democracy: district voting, the end of re-election and the minimum age of 60 for a minister to be appointed to the Federal Supreme Court.
If Professor Oscar Vilhena agreed with this last point, he spoke firmly against the amnesty project that has been debated in Congress.
“Brazilian history is one of impunity,” he stated. “Previous amnesties have created an incentive for those defeated in the democratic process to feel free to seek to subvert it.”
The lawyer praised Brazil’s evolution over the last 40 years as a “velvet revolution” which, despite having left frustrations in aspects such as security and inequality, made progress in the fight against exclusions and changed “the hierarchical way in which Brazilians perceived themselves”.
“The country was decided by a few and, today, other actors entered the game. This destabilized democracy, and that is the challenge we are experiencing now.”
It is something that speaks to the main points brought up by Luciany Aparecida, professor of literature at PUC in São Paulo. “In the early 1980s, I heard about the democratic opening in the kitchens of the houses that the women of the family took me to. People like me, who were there, today discuss it in theaters like this one.”
When journalist Fernanda Mena raised a concern that the left’s fragmentation along identity lines would weaken it, Luciany countered that “we have a fragmented left in Brazil, and that’s good.”
“Our presence in spaces like this is due to fragmentation. I am not the one who imagines myself as the hegemon in certain places”, stated the writer, who is black. “This doesn’t mean a break, that people will let go of each other’s hands. It’s an expansion of possibilities, of perspective.”
The observation rhymes well with the opening speech made earlier by the journalist, responsible for organizing “A Palavra e o Poder” alongside the columnist and the newspaper’s assistant editorial secretary and Diversity editor.
“With these unpublished articles, debates about our democracy were renewed and expanded. Thus, the present spoke to the past to, perhaps, indicate directions for the future. In short, this book is like Brazilian democracy: an apparently unfeasible project that, despite all the problems, became a reality.”
UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES
Brasilia
-Who participates: , and , with mediation
-Where: Livraria da Travessa at Casa Park shopping mall (SGCV Sul Lote 22)
-When: October 30th (Thursday), at 7pm
Rio de Janeiro
-Who participates: , , and , with mediation by .
-Where: Livraria da Travessa at Leblon shopping mall (av. Afrânio de Melo Franco, 290)
-When: November 4th (Tuesday), at 7pm
Bethlehem
-Who participates: , and Suely Araújo, mediated by
-Where: Espaço Folha at COP30 (av. Dr. Freitas, 1628, Pedreira)
-When: November 12th (Wednesday), at 10am
Lisboa
-Who participates: , , Milena Britto and Rodrigo Tavares, mediated by Mafalda Anjos.
-Where: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation – auditorium 2 (av. de Berna, 45A)
-When: November 26th (Wednesday), at 6:30 pm
University of São Paulo
-Who participates: names to be confirmed
-Where: Nicolau Sevcenko Auditorium, History department of FFLCH (Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences) – av. Professor Lineu Prestes, 338, Cidade Universitária
-When: December 10th (Wednesday), at 5:30 pm
