The Global Exchange organization warns that rights and democracy are at risk in Brazil's upcoming elections, just days before Brazilians cast their votes in a first round to elect their next president, national congress, governors and state legislatures.
In a statement, the international human rights organization based in San Francisco, detailed that, during these elections that will take place this Sunday, October 2, in their first round, the country's democratic institutions are under real pressure.
He also noted that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who served as the 35th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2010, and who is running for a second term, is leading by wide margins in virtually all polls.
However, he said that the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, has openly rejected the legitimacy of any possible outcome other than his own re-election, mobilizing his supporters to do the same.
"Concerns that anti-democratic actions could trigger a return to military rule are widespread. So are concerns about unfair electoral practices and even physical threats, especially against black and indigenous candidates, social activists and academics who have spoken out against increasingly authoritarian practices," the statement said.
Global Exchange, in collaboration with this media outlet, conducted a journalistic and social investigation in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to learn first-hand about the socio-political conditions prior to the elections.
You can read the Report Brazil Elections 2022: Rights and democracy in danger. Pre-election report, click here.
The investigation revealed that the government headed by Jair Bolsonaro is generating an anti-democratic narrative - including the use of hate speech and "fake news" on social media - which contributes to increasing tension and could encourage violent actions such as those that have already occurred in the context of these elections.
"This tension fueled by Jair Bolsonaro's rhetoric is generating fear among academics and candidates representing minorities, particularly black, indigenous and LGBTQIA+ people, who are considered a target by President Bolsonaro's most extreme supporters, many of them military, police or armed civilians," the organization said.
In response, Global Exchange has urgently called on the Brazilian government, the international press and other international organisations to monitor and protect the integrity of activists, academics and candidates, particularly those representing minorities such as indigenous peoples, Afro-Caribbeans, women and the groups that comprise them.
The organization said it will cover the elections in Brazil through a team of international and local journalists distributed in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador de Bahia and the Amazon, and will produce reports and multimedia content in English and Spanish that media outlets interested in the material can publish on their platforms.
You may be interested in: Lula in Ibirapuera: "People are afraid to wear their team's jersey and be attacked".
