Chief justice of Brazil’s top court urges tolerance in election year
Luiz Fux, chief justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court, urged Brazilians to show tolerance over the course of this electoral year, and said there is no room for violence and attacks on the democratic regime. The address was delivered this morning (Feb. 1) as part of a solemn session marking the beginning of the judiciary year.
“The disagreements in the political arena notwithstanding, democracy should provide no chance for disputes based on ‘us against them,’” Fux declared. “Thus, this Supreme Court, guardian of the Constitution, advises Brazilians to have an electoral year marked by stability and tolerance, since there can no longer be room for actions against the democratic regime and for violence against public institutions,” the justice went on to say.
In a democratic Brazil, he noted, citizens may freely express disagreement “with no fear of censorship or retaliation.” The head of the country’s highest court also stated that respect for the Constitution, the law, and freedom of press must stand above any electoral outcome.
Another key issue discussed in Fux’s speech was the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed grief over the 5 million dead worldwide and the 600 thousand in Brazil, and said that tackling the pandemic “made us see, beyond our differences, that we are all part of the same social web and are strongly dependent on one another, not just for our survival, but also for being free and autonomous as citizens of democratic societies.”
The year’s agenda at Brazil’s Supreme Court, he said, will be put together taking into account the democratic stability and the preservation of the country’s political institutions.
Other topics mentioned, to be included on the court’s agenda of cases are economic recovery and the protection of labor agreements; administrative morality; and the strengthening of public health care and human rights undermined by the pandemic, especially for the benefit of the disenfranchised.
The speech was delivered at the court floor, where he was by himself. The other members of the court and guests attended the ceremony online.
The measure was adopted by Fux in agreement with the other justices due to the spread of the Omicron variant, which have led to a sharp increase in the occupancy rate of ICU beds in the Federal District, the seat of the Brazilian government, in the past few weeks.
