Time to resist all coup attempts, justice minister says

Minister Eugênio Aragão recalled the military coup mounted 52 years

Publicado em 01/04/2016 - 19:09 Por Pedro Peduzzi reports from Agência Brasil - Brasília

Brasília - O ministro da Justiça, Eugênio Aragão, e o presidente da Comissão de Anistia, Paulo Abrão, inauguram as sessões de trabalho de 2016. A cerimônia lembrou os 52 anos do golpe militar de 1964 (Wilson Di

Justice Minister Eugênio Aragão and Amnesty Commission chair Paulo Abrão opened the 2016 work sessions. The ceremony recalled the military coup, launched 52 ago. Wilson Dias/Agência Brasil

Justice Minister Eugênio Aragão said Friday (Apr. 1) that, due to the current political crisis facing the country, it is time to gather strength, stand up for the social and popular achievements that marked the last few years, and fight for the preservation of democracy.

“We cannot show weakness now, because, if we do, we'll be subdued and maybe pushed back. We must all resist. There's nothing we should fear, because fear is what keeps us paralyzed. We have to move forwards serenely yet tenaciously,” Aragão said during the opening ceremony of the work sessions of the 2016 Ministry Justice Amnesty Commission. The event also brought back to mind the military coup, mounted 52 years ago, in 1964.

“It's time to show our tenacity and pluck. I urge all to resist every attempt at launching a coup,” the minister said.

To Aragão's judgment, the current scenario facing the country is in several ways similar to what could be observed when the military took over the reins of the country. “The date today should be seen as an opportunity for everyone to think about tolerance, dialogue, and the need to build bridges, so that what happened 52 years ago may not happen again.”

Aragão said the ministry has kept its eyes open for hate- and intolerance-motivated initiatives that may pose a risk to democracy, which was established in the country after “so much hard work and pain.”

“People who overstep the bounds and treat their fellows with violence or contempt—be it in the real world or online—will be given a proper response from this ministry,” he stressed.

The minister also criticized the impeachment proceedings against Dilma Rousseff, and said that the move goes against the choice made by the ballot. “We must not bear to have those who lost the election try illicitly to break democratic order with legal arguments that amount to nothing but opportunistic and biased discourse,” he said.

Aragão went on to argue that Rousseff should remain in office and “ensure quality governance,” in order to preserve the social achievements made in PT's previous administrations.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Time to resist all coup attempts, justice minister says

Edição: Luana Lourenço / Olga Bardawil

Últimas notícias