Demonstration on 11/15 still has low support from right-wing politicians

The low support of right-wing politicians is deflating a national demonstration scheduled for this Wednesday (15/11), the holiday of the Proclamation of the Republic. The call for marches in several cities in Brazil, which has been made for more than a month via social networks and messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram, is still only the responsibility of small movements and influencers, and has not received the approval of large political personalities.

On the networks, the most used motto to call participants to the demonstration is “Lula out” – for the impeachment of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). A post from almost two months ago on Instagram with more than 54 thousand likes states: “The earth hasn’t shaken yet! Wait, criminal! Your time is coming!”, in reference to the PT member.

The requirement for voting with a public count has also been treated as a priority issue. The groups participating in the demonstration intend to use the event to facilitate a popular initiative project on the topic, which depends on obtaining signatures from at least 1% of the entire national electorate.

Bethy Frank, president of the Abrapa movement (Brazilian Patriots Organization) in Paraná, explains that the Federal Supreme Court (STF) will not be one of the targets of the protests. The Senate’s omission in relation to the Supreme Court’s abuses, on the other hand, will be one of the focuses. “Everything we are going through today is the fault of the Senate. The only one that can do something about the STF and the TSE is the Senate, but it is silent”, she says.

For Bethy, given the news that Luciane Barbosa Farias, known as the “Amazonian drug lady”, a member of the criminal faction Comando Vermelho, was received twice this year by advisors of Minister Flávio Dino, at the Ministry of Justice and Security building Publicly, the “Dino out” agenda could also reach the demonstration with force.

Even with the multiple flags, the demonstration has been ignored by major figures on the right. Politicians with strong charisma on the networks, such as former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) and federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), for example, have not yet mentioned the demonstrations on 15/11.

This goes against the trend of both in other national demonstrations organized by their supporters. In the days before the 10/12 anti-abortion march, for example, both published videos calling on the population for the event.

Groups are still waiting for politicians to join the demonstration

For now, one of the few initiatives coming from politicians was the release of a video by parliamentarians from Rio Grande do Sul – such as federal deputy Osmar Terra (MDB-RS), Porto Alegre councilor Comandante Nádia (PP) and state deputy Joel Wilhelm (PP) – calling for a demonstration at 2pm on 15/11 at Parcão, in Porto Alegre.

Activist Adilson Zambotti, a collaborator of several groups that coordinate the demonstrations, says that the organizers are still waiting for more politicians to join.

“There was no national call for large groups. We, the small ones, got involved and worked in our own way, hoping that along the way there could be an engagement from some national leadership and politicians. This always happens in the middle of the term – for example, when we book two months, two and a half months in advance, after a month it starts to gain greater projection and reaches these people, and they end up engaging. But, this time, that didn’t happen”, he laments. “Let’s hope that some new fact comes to light, so that we gain more traction to take people to the streets”, he adds.

Popular support, according to him, was also weak on the networks, but has improved a lot in the last few days. “We had been working for a month and a half and it was very slow. Now, ten days before the manifesto, things started to catch fire”, he comments.

The Nas Ruas movement, which has hundreds of thousands of followers on the networks, but had not been talking about the event, began making posts last Sunday (12) calling for protesters.

For the main point of the demonstration in Brazil – Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, at 12pm on the 15th –, Adilson predicts “around 10 to 15 thousand people, no more than that”. “But, suddenly, it surprises. We never know what could happen,” he says. “We did our part: we organized, we have banners, a truck on Paulista in front of MASP [Museu de Arte de São Paulo]everything organized.”

See some locations and scheduled times for demonstrations across Brazil on 11/15

Bahia

• Savior: Barra Lighthouse: 10am

Ceará

• Strength: Praça Portugal: 3pm

Federal District

Holy Spirit

• Victory: Pope’s Square: 12pm

Goiás

• Goiânia: Tamandaré Square: 8am
• Miners: Praça Nova: 4pm

Mato Grosso

• Cuiabá: Flag Square: 3pm

Minas Gerais

• Belo Horizonte: Freedom Square: 10am
• Varginha: Praça da Concha Acústica, Center: 10am

For

• Tucuruí: City of Light Station: 7am

Paraná

• Curitiba: Nossa Senhora de Salete Square: 2pm
• Prudentópolis: Av. São João, Center: 9am

Pernambuco

• Caruaru: Grande Hotel: 10am; In front of the Grand Hotel: 8am
• Recife: Bon Voyage: 9am

Rio de Janeiro

• Resende: Water Park: 9am
• Rio de Janeiro: Copacabana, Posto 5, Corner of Rua Miguel Lemos: 10am
• Three Rivers: Avenida Beira Rio: 10am
• Round Round: Praça Brasil: 9am

large northern river

• Christmas: Av. Salgado Filho, Shopping Midway: 3pm

Santa Catarina

• Canoinhas: Av. Rubens Ribeiro da Silva 999, Campo d’Água Verde, Pátio do Hotel Pampas next to the portal steakhouse: Opening hours not specified
• Florianópolis: Trapiche da Beira Mar: 2pm

São Paulo

• Campinas: Largo do Pará Square: 9am
• Jundiaí: Av. 9 de Julho, Sob. Eng. Romão Nasser Viaduct: 10am
• Sao Jose do Rio Preto: Regional Events Center: 9am
• São Paulo: Avenida Paulista: 2pm