Public security, an issue on which the left tends to slip, was elevated to the priority of the government’s (PT) discussions with the crisis resulting from the mega-operation, putting the PT member on the defensive.
The action on Tuesday (28) resulted in 121 deaths, and made Lula take actions that were hitherto unusual on the left, in a move driven by apprehension among allies about the effects on .
that the operation was seen as a success by 57% of residents of the capital and the metropolitan region of Rio, against 39% who think otherwise.
The operation sponsored by the government of oppositionist Claudio Castro () left in the political field issues that were previously on the agenda, such as negotiations around the tariff of .
More than that, it reunited the discourse of the right — hitherto shaken by the actions of (PL-SP) in the United States and the conviction of (PL).
Furthermore, it interrupted a cycle of good news for the Palácio do Planalto, which hoped to guide the campaign in search of a fourth term for Lula with banners such as the defense of sovereignty and tax justice.
Contrary to the historical reaction of the left to this type of action, Lula did not publicly criticize or question the police operation and avoided talking directly about the case, which left possible demonstrations alluding to the left in Congress, especially the PSOL.
There was an expectation that Lula would use the event on Wednesday (29), to address the topic — which did not happen. On the occasion, there was a minute of silence for the victims of the operation.
O , in a post on social media, in which he spoke of “coordinated work” against drug trafficking that reaches the backbone of crime “without putting police officers, children and innocent families at risk.”
An ally of Lula says that this strategy was designed precisely to avoid any other type of speech by the president that could be used by opponents to wear him down.
As unusual as the lack of questioning of police action was the fact that the government praised on social media for Lula’s sanction of the project that combats organized crime.
In addition to the left almost always saying that proposals to tighten criminal legislation do not resolve crime, the project in question is authored by senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR), responsible for Lula’s convictions and imprisonment when he was a judge.
“It is another step in the fight against crime with intelligence, integration and punishment. Government of Brazil, on the side of the Brazilian people, against organized crime”, says the piece, without mentioning the former judge.
Lula had already skidded on the issue of public security — faced with repercussions. The phrase led him to return to the right’s focus on the networks, under the discourse that he and the left defend criminals. The attacks intensified after the action in Rio.
“It is no longer possible to treat the criminal as a victim. The criminal is not a victim, the criminal becomes a victim”, said governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP), the main name considered to face Lula next year, in a post about the meeting with governors to discuss Rio, with more than 3 million views as of this Friday (31).
Although public security is an issue within the competence of the states, there is an assessment among members of the Lula government that this crisis could put a stop to .
Amid discussions about the most appropriate reaction, allies demanded speed in the processing of projects sent by the Executive that had not yet been approved, such as the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) for Public Security.
The mega-operation in Rio also served as an opportunity for right-wing governors, some of them pre-candidates for the Planalto, to once again try to harass the PT member. On Thursday (30), .
In speeches with the tone of an early election campaign, they announced the creation of a group they called the “Peace Consortium”, which will bring together the heads of state executives around actions to combat organized crime.
Among Lula’s allies, . Boulos and minister Gleisi Hoffmann (Secretariat of Institutional Relations) said that the group is working to place Brazil on the Trump administration’s intervention radar, encouraging the American offensive against Brazilian sovereignty.
Behind the scenes, a PT assistant says he believes that the operation in Rio is a kind of lifeline for the right, which has been cornered in recent months. He recognizes that this fact created an opportunity to unite the governors in an attempt to separate themselves from Bolsonaro.
Despite recognizing possible negative effects for the federal government, this ally says he assesses that the issue of public security, however relevant it may be, is not, alone, decisive in electoral results.
On the networks, the government’s strategy will be to focus on the discourse that it is promoting changes in the direction of , making frequent references to , in São Paulo, which included integrated action from , the São Paulo Military Police, the Federal Public Ministry and , and identified the infiltration of the PCC in the fuel sector.
A PT leader says that the party commissioned two surveys to understand Brazilians’ feelings regarding the mega-operation, one in person and the other digitally. He states that the party must be objective in confronting the opposition’s narrative, but without dwelling on the issue.
