Brazilian essayist, novelist and short story writer Silviano Santiago, winner of the 2022 Camões Prize, told Lusa that a possible victory and re-election of the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, represents a concrete threat to democracy.
“There is a threat and it is concrete,” he told Lusa, three days after winning the most prestigious literary award in the Portuguese language.
Silviano Santiago also joined the voices of several analysts, institutions and organizations that fear that Jair Bolsonaro is inflaming his support base and creating a scenario similar to the “invasion of the Capitol” in the United States.
“A situation that exists and is concrete and we know that the current government of Brazil has strong links with the extreme right,” he stressed.
After winning the Camões Award, Silviano Santiago explained that he had mixed feelings, largely due to the situation in the country, which will vote on Sunday in a highly polarized election between the Brazilian head of state and former president Lula da Silva.
“Emotion that I feel, obviously self-centered, selfish, a self-centered emotion, facing a very sad moment in the world, in particular in Brazil,” he said.
“Emotion when it becomes self-reflective, it atrophies a lot, it’s a shame. Because this emotion could be that of a birthday,” she added.
The writer, who is said to have always voted for the Workers’ Party and identifies himself as a Lula not affiliated with the party, said he was not worried.
“I don’t worry. I hope I don’t worry,” he stressed, hoping that Lula “recovers a Brazil that was reasonably governed” and that “important changes” take place.
In Silviano Santiago’s opinion, Brazil has become a “shy country, which has practically returned to the colonial era.”
“Our greatest wealth is agribusiness and that is very sad for me. I am not against agribusiness, obviously, but I think it is sad that it is the largest source of income in a country as plural as Brazil”, she concluded.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the first round of the elections with 48.4% of the vote and Jair Bolsonaro received 43.2%, so the two candidates will have to face each other in a second round scheduled for Sunday.
Source: TSF
