Former minister Ciro Gomes analyzed the political crisis during a conference given this Friday (22) within the cycle “The Brazilian Crisis”, organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies (IdEA), at the Unicamp Convention Center (watch the full lecture in the link below). Former governor of Ceará (1991-1994) and former minister of Finance (1994) and National Integration (2003-2006), he attracted a large contingent of people, who filled the auditorium to hear his presentation on the reasons that led to the exacerbated polarization in the Brazilian scenario and its proposals to overcome the institutionalized crisis.
Third place in the last election for the Presidency of the Republic, Ciro Gomes, with his energetic and direct style of expressing himself, gave a history of the country's situation since the New Republic and presented a diagnosis that showed how the political and economic problems culminated in the current situation of rise of the extreme right. He focused his criticism on the cult of personality trend that has dominated the debate at the extremes of the political spectrum and cited the case of Bolivia and the coup that removed President Evo Morales from power amid accusations of electoral fraud when seeking a new term.
“It’s not the problem of exchanging Chico, Maria or José for Rita, Pedro or Antônio. The cult of personality is vain. There is no São Ciro, there is no São Bolsonaro and, unfortunately, there is no São Lula. There is no such thing. Any country in the world that devotes its energy to this belief will find itself in the water. Anyone who doesn’t understand this from sociology, politics and history, take a look at the Bolivian experiment”, declared Ciro, remembering that, unlike Brazil, the country was growing 6,5% per year and was adding value to its base of traditional products. , in addition to having nationalized lithium. Even so, he claims, he could not resist the temptation of personality worship and messianism.
Without sparing criticism of the Workers' Party and the conservatism represented by President Jair Bolsonaro, Ciro presented himself as a third way in the Brazilian electoral scenario. For him, after redemocratization, there was a need to create a new model, which Brazilian society has not yet been able to find. “The two free forces that operated in the 1988 Constituent pact decided, due to the specific issue of São Paulo, to compete aggressively with each other and not cooperate: PT and PSDB. Practical result: the old corrupt, physiological and patrimonial Brazil is the only thing that does not leave power. It’s a ridiculous thing.”
In his analysis, he differentiated three layers to the Brazilian political crisis. The first is external, which he calls the “agonistic crisis of representative democracy”, resulting from the adherence of progressive thought to the neoliberal model, from the 1980s and 1990s, and which led to the demoralization of politics. For the former minister, the second component is Brazilian, as the country is in a “constitutional vacuum” in which the constituted power is promoting the repeal of the 1988 pact in an illegitimate way, as in the case of the public spending ceiling, which prevents meeting the basic needs of the population established in the Magna Carta.
The third aspect refers to the consequences that the economic crisis brings to the scenario, with 13 million unemployed, 38,8 million informal workers, 63,7 million Brazilians in debt and with credit restrictions, 5,5 million defaulting microenterprises, among other factors. “Politics is the cause of all this, because this did not happen by accident, and it is the only way out we have. Therefore, it is a tragedy and an opportunity that we have today in Brazil.”
Despite the complexity of the scenario, Ciro Gomes proposes an in-depth discussion on the topic of public financing of electoral campaigns, which could allow greater transparency in the relations between power and capital, despite still being the target of much criticism. “It’s a complex debate that goes against the grain of prevailing morality,” he ponders.
Furthermore, it suggests a change in the electoral calendar, inspired by the French model, with national elections on three dates: a first and second round for Executive positions, and a third ballot, one month after the second presidential vote, for the Legislative. . “What is the effect of this? Parliament will be elected in light of the vote that was given hegemonically to the Executive. This tends to greatly reduce the logic of an impasse, for example, between a reformist president, who wants to change the country's structures, and a Parliament that tends to be conservative because it is surrounded and suffocated by the government lobby. status quo, of conservatism.”
Born in Pindamonhangaba (SP) and graduated in Law from the Federal University of Ceará (UFCE), Ciro Gomes also held the position of federal deputy (2007-2011), in addition to running for President in the 1998, 2002 and 2018 campaigns. professor at Universidade Vale do Acaraú (UVA), in Sobral, and at the University of Fortaleza (Unifor) in the 1980s, in addition to being a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School (1995-1996).
The opening table of the conference was attended by the rector of Unicamp, Marcelo Knobel, the general coordinator of Unicamp, Teresa Atvars, the president of the Scientific and Cultural Council of IdEA, Carlos Vogt, and the journalist Paulo Markun, responsible for mediating the event.
“The Brazilian Crisis” is bringing important names from different areas of knowledge to Unicamp as a way of stimulating discussion on current topics in search of diagnoses and solutions for the various crises that afflict the country's life. Between September and November, the event hosted conferences by economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo (Economy), philosopher João Carlos Salles (University), educator Mozart Neves Ramos (Education) and diplomat Rubens Ricupero (International Relations).
Watch the lecture in full:
listen interview granted to Rádio Unicamp.
