Free Lula! Oppose Fascism!

Brazil has jailed its most popular leader. Lula is a prolitical prisoner.

Having been run out of New York by its mayor, the new Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is supposed to be welcomed to Dallas on May 15, 2019. Articles from New York and in the Dallas Voice indicate he will be welcomed by Mayor Rawlings and will receive a “Person of the Year” award from the World Affairs Council.

On line, activists are asking them to not. If Bolsonaro does indeed show up, protests are certain to happen. People are contacting the Dallas World Affairs Council, 325 N St Paul in downtown Dallas, at 214-965-8400 and asking them to cancel. People are also contacting Mayor Rawlings.

The Problem with Bolsonaro

Jair Bolsonaro campaigned on his admiration for the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil before the Workers Party under Ignacio Da Silva, known as “Lula,” established one of the world’s most enviable democracies. Lula and his successor were both thrown into prison as a prelude to fascism’s triumph. There is an international “Free Lula” movement that explains what happened.

Lula is popular in the United States and in the world.

On May 2, the American Association of Jurists issued on Thursday (2) an official statement in which it recognizes Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as a political prisoner. The AAJ, which is a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council, had already reported the persecution against Lula during the General Assembly of the 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, last year. However, this is the first time the organization officially declares that Lula is a political prisoner. The statement points out that Lula ended his second term with an approval rate of over 80% and that, last year, he was not only prevented from running for the presidency but also forbidden to give interviews or express his views publicly.

As President, Bolsonaro immediately began taking away native lands, persecuting homosexuals, subverting democracy, cutting education funds, and hamstringing unions. A May 3rd article indicates that he has even asked students to provide evidence against any teacher who speaks against him or his ideology!

Bolsonaro quickly earned the friendship of President Donald Trump and helped side with him against other more democratic nations.

On the same day that Bolsonaro is supposed to arrive in Dallas, May 15, Brazilian educators have called for a national one-day strike. Local actions will be in solidarity.

When we contemplate the last big upsurge of fascism in Nazi Germany, Americans invariably ask “What were they thinking?” How could anybody stand by and allow such a horror to develop? We may have never successfully answered the question about Germany, but now we have to ask it about ourselves.

–Gene Lantz

I’m on KNON’s “Workers Beat” radio program at 9 AM Central Time every Saturday. If you are curious about what I really think, see my personal web site