04/10/2024 – 8:35
The third quarter of 2024, which includes the final stretch of pre-campaigns and most of the electoral period of municipal disputes, recorded 323 cases of violence against Brazilian political figures. It is the most violent quarter in the last five years, according to a survey by the Observatory of Political and Electoral Violence at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio).
The study, whose historical series began in 2019, reveals an escalation in the number of cases in municipal elections and indicates an urgent challenge for the country’s democracy, according to analysts interviewed by the Estadãothe rescue of civility and the republican spirit in the electoral dispute.
The numbers for July, August and September exceed the last three months of 2020 – which include that year’s election period –, when researchers cataloged 236 cases. This year, there were 242 considering the same research categories: physical and psychological violence. The other 81 cases were classified as violence of a semiotic nature (such as disqualification and objectification), economic (theft or vandalism) and sexual (harassment, harassment and threat of rape), new categories in the study. With data from this last quarter, 2024 reaches the mark of 510 cases of political violence across the country.
“The increase in violence at election time was expected, but we ended up breaking records that signal the worsening of this scenario,” said Miguel Carnevale, a researcher at the Observatory.
While episodes ranging from punches to chair attacks took place in front of the cameras in the race for São Paulo City Hall, cases in the interior made the State reach a total of 58 incidents of political violence in the last three months, including 21 physical attacks and three homicides: there were a councilor in Sandovalina, a former councilor in São Vicente and a candidate for councilor in Santo André were killed. Just behind São Paulo, the State of Rio de Janeiro registered the most cases, with 42. Then, Ceará, with 23; Bahia, with 22; and Paraíba, with 21.
‘Very scared’
The type of violence with the highest number of occurrences in the survey is threat. It was 80 from July to September. “We feel embarrassed, humiliated, and (this type of situation) generates a lot of fear, a lot of fear,” said mayoral candidate Alysson da Saúde (PT), from Campo Florido (MG), who is seeking re-election.
He reported to the Federal Police and the Electoral Court in August two threats that his party received via WhatsApp during the campaign period. Unidentified numbers demanded the removal of him and his candidate for vice, Thales de Santi, from politics. “Get out of politics, then you won’t cry over spilled milk”, said one of them. The PF collects statements regarding the threats.
370 km away, in Carmo do Rio Branco (MG), mayor Filipe Carielo (PSD), who is seeking re-election, reported having been threatened with a machete last month by a city hall employee who said he was dissatisfied with a transfer of sector. The man cornered him inside a bar, making the candidate hide inside the bathroom. The Civil Police of Minas Gerais reported that it is investigating the case.
“People without balance end up committing aggression, which is unacceptable. It is important for democracy that it is free from violence”, said Carielo.
Physical attacks are also at the top of the list of main episodes of political violence, with 79 cases identified. In September, for example, two councilors from opposing political groups in São João do Arraial (PI), Cajé Rocha (MDB) and Jurandir Pontes (PT), exchanged punches in the plenary session of the City Council after an argument. In the same month, in Sobral (CE), former mayor Veveu Arruda was involved in a fight with residents during the election ceremony for his wife, Izolda Cela (PSB), candidate for mayor of the city. Both cases were filmed and went viral on social media.
Parties
Attack, disqualification and homicide close the list of types of political violence with the highest number of occurrences this quarter. Unirio shows that political violence affects almost all parties. Affiliates of 25 of the 29 Brazilian acronyms were among the victims in the period. PT members appear in 38 incidents; MDB and União Brasil have 36 each; PL, with 33; and PSD, with 23, come next.
Authorities reacted to the escalation of worrying cases in the country. The president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), minister Cármen Lúcia, announced last Sunday the creation of a Permanent Observatory Against Political Violence to investigate, report and establish bases for combating cases of the type.
“Policy exists so that conflicts can be resolved through dialogue, within institutions and in light of the law. Violence is the denial of politics and the principles of civility”, said political scientist Rodrigo Prando, from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. “Part of the responsibility comes from rhetorical violence. In polarized political contexts, we have a view that an opponent is not seen as an adversary, but rather an enemy to be eliminated.”
According to Carnevale, the “starting point for the resolution is to resume civic debate and strengthen institutional presence”. “We have made progress, such as laws to combat gender-based violence, the creation of monitoring and work to combat violence. Without centralizing the debate on the issue in the political environment, the problem tends to crystallize,” stated the researcher.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.
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