President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Wednesday (10) that he will give approval for the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to notify people who are in possession of stolen cell phones that it is necessary to return the devices to the public authorities.
Lula stated that the fact that most people with stolen cell phones are poor left him with “concern” about the repercussions of this measure. Even so, he decided to take the initiative forward and said he will discuss it with the Minister of Justice, Wellington César, this Wednesday.
The announcement was made during a plenary session of the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development (CDES), known as the Council. Lula was the last to speak in the session that began in the morning and lasted until the early afternoon.
The president began by saying that he would consult the members of the Council – which he actually did at the end of his report. The “poll” was merely figurative, as the decision is up to him alone.
“I’m going to consult with you so that you can become a deliberative council. I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t tell you, but I will tell you. It’s been ten days since the Minister of Justice presented me with a study to put something called Secure Telephone into practice. We have a register with the address and chassis of 2.5 million stolen cell phones. We don’t know who stole it, but we know it was stolen”, he stated.
Lula continued: “I was going to send a message saying that all 2.5 million people who have their cell phone stolen have to return it. They need to return it because they are committing a crime and if they are caught they could suffer unnecessary punishment.”
The president said he knew that “rich people don’t buy stolen phones”, but that “poor people do”. “This economic concern about those who have a stolen phone messed with my head, but I can’t have this doubt, because Telephone Seguro will leave millions of Brazilians at ease that they will no longer have their cell phone stolen”, he declared.
“Today I called a meeting with the minister, which I should have called, and I will effectively send out the signal for whoever has the stolen phone to return it, because otherwise there could be consequences,” he said. Lula stated that the return must be made at the Post Office, as some people are worried about going to a police station, “because they don’t know the type of delegate or police officer they will meet”.
At the end of the meeting, the Political Broadcast witnessed some members of the Council speak, in private conversations, that this measure could have negative repercussions for the president among the poorest population. In the consultation that Lula held with those present, practically everyone present raised their hands when the president asked whether he should go ahead with the action.
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