Lula management sees the left’s act as meaningless and avoids the burden – 03/23/2024 – Power

The Lula (PT) government seeks to detach itself and not bear the burden for its image of the acts against Jair Bolsonaro (PL) organized by left-wing parties this Saturday (23) and which were emptied in practically all the cities where they took place.

The internal assessment is that the PT and other parties made a mistake in carrying out the demonstrations that did not have a “mobilizing agenda”, as defined by a member of the government, and that furthermore took place in a disjointed manner.

On the other hand, ministers also argue that this is a “PT event” and that therefore the emptying does not serve as a thermometer of the government’s strength.

They also state that the agenda of the acts —in defense of democracy, to remember the 60th anniversary of the military coup and against amnesty for those who sought an institutional rupture—, although important, are not at the top of the list of priorities that the government has been publicly defending .

Amid the negative fluctuation in the evaluation of the PT administration, Lula and his ministers decided to focus their efforts on publicizing the government’s actions, with more trips around the country. Allies have even advised the president to avoid rhetorical clashes with Bolsonaro and also controversial topics.

Furthermore, the anniversary of the military coup on the 31st, one of the agenda of the events, is a reason for division within the government and also among allies. President Lula’s decision to advise against events to mark the ceremony was subject to criticism.

The government is experiencing a moment of attempted rapprochement with the military, amid the progress of investigations into the participation of members of the Armed Forces leadership in efforts in favor of a coup to keep Jair Bolsonaro in power, after his defeat at the polls.

On Friday night (22), for example, Lula and other members of his government participated in a dinner at the residence of the Marina commander, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen.

Palácio do Planalto had already decided to distance itself from the acts when they began to be planned.

That’s why Lula, his ministers and other members of the government chose not to attend the demonstrations. Throughout this Saturday (23), there was also no reference to the actions on social media by the agent’s team.

There was a strategic reading that the acts would invariably be compared with the demonstration promoted by pastor Silas Malafaia in favor of Jair Bolsonaro, on Avenida Paulista, in February. Lula himself said that the act at the time “was great”.

The strategy of removing the act in São Paulo from Paulista and dividing the demonstrations into several cities had the objective precisely of avoiding a comparison with the Bolsonarist act. In Planalto, this was another reason for criticism, as it further exposed the lack of articulation.

This Saturday (23), left-wing movements and parties organized acts in defense of democracy in dozens of cities across the country, as well as in Portugal and Spain. There was low participation, including in cities where the biggest demonstrations were planned, such as Salvador (BA) and the capital of São Paulo.

In the capital of Bahia, the president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann, stated this Saturday that the objective of the left’s actions was not to match in numbers that carried out by Bolsonaro in Paulista, but rather to reinforce the fight against dictatorships and coup attempts.

“[O objetivo] is to do acts all over Brazil, regardless of size. To bring together people and those who fought against the dictatorship and leave it in the memory that we cannot go back to that time. And also to say that we do not agree with the January 8th coup attempt.”

Regarding Lula’s absence from the demonstrations, the PT president stated that “it is not the role of the government or the president to carry out social mobilizations”.

The demonstration in the city of São Paulo was also hampered by rain. One of those present at the event was the former Minister of the Civil House José Dirceu.