Rousseff says Brazil needs friendly atmosphere
President Rousseff said that, in a time marked by sharp disagreement, events of tranquility, peace, respect of diversity and consensus-seeking are crucial.
President Dilma Rousseff said Brazil is experiencing a period of “sharp disagreement” and needs a “friendlier atmosphere”. She said the country must respect the “right to adversarial” and “unbiased judgment”. In an era of wider information availability, diversity should be embraced, the president noted.
During her appearance at the 27th Brazilian Broadcasters Conference in Brasília, Rousseff said that “in a time marked by sharp disagreement, events of tranquility, peace, respect of diversity, consensus-seeking, towards a milder, friendlier atmosphere in the country are crucial. It is essential that every public forum for sharing ideas and information be a space for seeking truth and reflect the diversity of views.”
Speaking to executives of radio and TV broadcasters, Rousseff advocated freedom of the press and speech, pointing out that people should be free to “support or criticize governments and political parties.”
“Freedom of speech is the freedom to go to the streets to stand up for your rights or simply demonstrate,” the president went on. This is only possible if people are allowed to speak out for their interests and projects “without any state or other censorship,” pointing out that upholding these principles is everyone's responsibility, whether they are governments, politicians, scholars, or opinion leaders.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Rousseff says Brazil needs friendly atmosphere
