A massacre, says impeached councilwoman about Bolsonarists – 09/02/2023 – Politics

Before being impeached by the other councilors of São Miguel do Oeste, the PT councilor Maria Tereza Capra (PT) was vilified and mocked by colleagues from the city of Santa Catarina to applause, slogans and laughter from an audience of about 200 Bolsonaristas .

Maria Tereza was impeached on February 4 for breaking parliamentary decorum for having posted a video on her Instagram in repudiation of a coup demonstration that took place on November 2.

In it, those present raised their right arm above their face – a gesture that was compared by Maria Tereza and entities such as Conib (Israeli Confederation of Brazil) to a Nazi salute. The impeachment score was 10 votes to 1 – Maria Tereza’s.

“In the session I was impeached, they [os demais vereadores] were behaved. There were lawyers present, and our class [políticos petistas e manifestantes de esquerda] it was there. But I was extremely shaken by the session in which the repudiation motion took place, the day after the demonstration. That was a massacre. An inquisition”, says the councilwoman.

The PT councilor deleted the video about an hour after publication, according to her, because she had received threats. She did not attend the session the following day, on November 3, in which councilors took turns on the tribune encouraged by an audience of Bolsonarist protesters.

The audio of the session is available on the website of the Municipality of São Miguel do Oeste. At the time, no councilor attributed the negative repercussion to the unhappiness of the gesture itself, but rather to those who pointed out the similarity with the Nazi salute.

“I wanted to bring here the councilor’s irresponsibility. Not only her, but other leftists as well, who call themselves journalists, who in bad faith manipulated the photos. They used photos and isolated images to denigrate our city. scandalizing with what happened in our city, which in fact did not happen. We are a welcoming city”, said councilor Ravier Centenaro (PSD) on the tribune.

Councilman Vanirto José Conrad (PDT) mocked the comparison to the Nazi salute. “She should be ashamed. I’m scared to go to mass, because the priest turns and moves, he says to raise his hand. I might be judged differently. When she received the straw [em sua formatura]she must not have raised her hand, she must have raised her leg, because then it is not Nazism.”

Moacir Fiorini (MDB) suggested that Maria Teresa Capra leave the city. “We have to remove this type of people from our municipality. If I were her, and thank God I’m not her, I would take my cap and goodbye”, said the councilor.

Fiorini was also one of the councilors who admitted having been at the coup demonstration in which the videos were recorded and who expressed nonconformity with the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

In the same speech, the MDB councilor says that he is not “questioning the result of the election”, but then goes on to say that “Bolsonaro won the election in the first round, have no doubt about that”.

Elói Bortolotti (PSD), after saying he was “offended” by the councilwoman’s video, thanks the truck drivers for having started the coup demonstrations and says he believes “that this bandit will not take over”, in reference to Lula. Then he calls STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes a “bald bum”.

At a certain point in the session, councilor Gilmar Baldissera (PP) declared that Maria Tereza “doesn’t know what she’s saying”. The Bolsonarist audience protests, and the councilor defends himself by repeating a catchphrase of former President Bolsonaro: “I am not defending [Maria Tereza]. My flag will never be red. My flag is green and yellow”.

After the impeachment, the councilor criticizes the Public Ministry of Santa Catarina, which about 24 hours after the demonstration concluded its investigation saying it was not a Nazi gesture, but a call to “emanate positive energies” made by the announcer of the event , followed by prayers.

“With all due respect to the Public Ministry, more people could have been heard. Was it a prayer? But where do you pray like that, with your arm raised above your head? And the Jewish community was heard to know what it saw in that gesture?”

“One thing is what they [os manifestantes] wanted to do. Another is what the gesture communicated, the way it was perceived. Obviously it is a gesture that is not done, but the councilors, instead of proposing this reflection, preferred to blame me”, says Maria Tereza.

After the publication of the video, Maria Teresa spent the next 90 days outside the municipality, returning only for the session that decided on her impeachment.

With the publication of the legislative decree that sanctioned the loss of mandate, on Tuesday (7), the councilor intends to appeal to Justice asking for “anticipation of guardianship”, that is, that the mandate be resumed until the Justice decides definitively.

This Wednesday (8), she and four other councilors from Santa Catarina participated in an act at the Florianópolis City Council denouncing death threats.

On February 3, the day of her impeachment, she received an email from someone saying that “revoking her mandate is just the first step” and that afterwards she would “revoke her life.”

The text also brings offenses, such as that she “doesn’t even deserve to be raped”, a phrase already uttered by former president Jair Bolsonaro to a parliamentarian when both were federal deputies.

In early February, Maria Tereza was included by the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship in a protection program for being considered a victim of political violence. The federal program will be able to offer police escort, physical security, risk mapping and expansion of the local protection network, as needed.