On Saturday (23/03), left-wing movements carried out a series of acts spread across the country, called in response to pressure against amnesty for those connected to the alleged coup attempt that would have taken place in Brazil at the beginning of 2023. However, the demonstrations ended up “empty” amid the distancing of Lula’s (PT) government and the split in the perspective of parties and activists on the relevance of mobilization.
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Response
The protests were announced by parties and entities after an event last month that brought together a crowd on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, in support of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is being investigated by the Federal Police in the inquiry regarding the attempted coup.
Motivation
The left-wing demonstration was planned to remember the 1964 military coup and to request that no amnesty be given to plotters involved in the 2022-23 incidents. Left-wing militants understand that the recent incident was caused because when the military dictatorship came to an end, in 1985, the regime leaders were not punished.
Few Leaderships
Without high-ranking members of the Lula (PT) government, nor federal deputies and senators, the acts lost even more political appeal. However, a few important members of the Workers’ Party (PT) attended the protests, such as José Genoino and José Dirceu, in São Paulo. Meanwhile, the Workers’ Party President and Federal Deputy Gleisi Hoffmann went to the event in Salvador, Bahia.
Small Demonstrations
There were demonstrations scheduled for 22 cities in Brazil and abroad. Those in the morning, in capitals such as Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Campo Grande, and Recife had just a few dozens to hundreds of people. In the two main demonstrations, in the afternoon, in Salvador and São Paulo, the presence was a little larger, but far from concentrating crowds with thousands of people.
In the capital of Bahia, according to estimates from the Military Police, the event brought together 4,000 people — the forecast was to receive at least 10,000 participants. However, the USP group Monitor do Debate Político no Meio Digital, estimated that at the peak of the demonstration, 1,700 people were present.
Political Force
Leaders of the opposition to President Lula (PT), such as Senator Ciro Nogueira (PP), assess that the emptying of Saturday’s acts (23) reflects errors on the left and reinforces Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) capacity for popular mobilization. For leaders of parties allied to Bolsonaro, even though Lula himself was not involved in calling for the protests, it is inevitable to compare them to the demonstrations that have mobilized around the former president.
Analysis:
The always turbulent relationship between leftist governments, elites, and the military is the basis of many episodes of political instability in the history of Brazil. Considering the fact that the current government does not have the majority in Congress and is not well regarded by a large part of the population, especially among those who support former President Bolsonaro, it is likely that Lula is trying to seek a more moderate stance, in order to stabilize relations with powerful “antagonizing” sectors, like the military.
