Brazil’s Economy Minister: ‘At No Point Did I Think Brazilian Democracy Was at Risk’

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes on Monday, October 26th, reiterated that the current government is creating an open society in Brazil. He said he had never questioned that Brazilian democracy was at risk and mentioned, as he always does, the proper functioning of the country’s institutions such as freedom of the press, a reformist Congress and a Federal Supreme Court (STF) that has supported the current administration.

Guedes spoke during the online event ‘A Day for Democracy’, organized by the Brazilian Academy of Constitutional Law (ABDConst).

However, prior to that the Minister made a retrospective of the past 30 years, a period that, according to him, was dominated by the right-wing, social democracy and, finally, by the left-wing. According to him, it was a succession of attempts to search for solutions in opposition to the right-wing military government, but with a statist slant.

“It was an Hobbesian state, which represented a burden for society,” he said in reference to English mathematician, political theorist and philosopher Thomas Hobbes, author of Leviathan and On The Citizen. In the Leviathan, he sets out his views on human nature – “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” – and the need for a strong government and society.

Following his line of reasoning, Guedes cited the political transformations that took place in José Sarney’s right-wing government, under MDB, which he called “a rib of the PMDB” and ethically superior.

“But the PSDB made a big mistake that led to four consecutive defeats, which was the Constitutional Amendment for reelection and that led to the left-wing specter,” said the Minister of Economy.

According to Guedes, it was logical for PSDB to take power since its economic positions met society’s desires: for poverty reduction, it offered promises of development and improvement of Brazil in the International Student Assessment Program (PISA). And the 1988 Constitution, according to the Minister, consolidated all these desires, which also led to exaggerated public spending and, consequently, increased debt and stagnation of the economy.

But according to the Minister, even before the emergence of language, hominids already protected the weakest, which is a natural instinct of living beings. To illustrate his reasoning that the protection of the weakest is a natural instinct, Guedes said that yesterday morning he was attacked by an ema on the lawn of the Alvorada Palace.

“I tried to understand why I was being attacked and I saw that the ema had young. The action was meant to ward off the danger I posiedas I walked on the lawn,” he said.

And in opposition to the left-wing, the Minister continued, Brazilian society chose a right-wing liberal project when referring to Bolsonaro’s election.

Guedes again defended President Jair Bolsonaro and his election by 57 million votes, which by itself demands that the President be respected. “I never questioned that democracy was at risk. Dilma Rousseff was armed and acquitted by democracy. Today we have an ex-captain who sings the National Anthem and has the family as the greatest asset,” Guedes said.

For the Minister, “it is not possible to have criticism of what the President says every day”.

“Let the man speak. It is not possible to be intolerant with Bolsonaro in the name of tolerance,” he said. “There is a debate about whether or not to have a vaccine. It is only natural to have different opinions. In North Korea there is no such doubt because, unlike Brazil which is an open society, there are half a dozen who rule and the others obey,” said the Minister adding that China is doing well, but needs to pass the test of freedom of its citizens.

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