[Graphic: international manifesto against political violence]
The international manifesto against political violence in Brazil and in solidarity with federal deputy Talíria Petrone has the support of members of the European Parliament and parliamentarians from countries such as Chile, Colombia, the USA, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico and Greece; Brazilian politicians and parliamentarians such as the national president of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL); opposition leaders in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, the Chamber’s coordinator of the Bancada Feminina (Women’s Caucus); the entire PSOL Caucus (all elected black, municipal, state and federal representatives); and over 60 artists and journalists.
The list has the support of over 600 activists, intellectuals and researchers from Brazil and several countries around the world. Signatories include black movement leaders, feminists, members of the LGBTI community, and ecosocialists.
Check out the full manifesto below | Click here to see the full list | Click to sign
Declaration against political violence in Brazil and in solidarity with Talíria Petrone
Political violence based on gender and race is a serious problem in Brazil, one that is not taken seriously by Brazilian institutions. The assassination of Marielle Franco, who at the time of her murder was an elected councillor in Rio de Janeiro for the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), is a prime example of this. Marielle, a black woman with a female partner, was a socialist and a defender of human rights. She was brutally executed on 14 March 2018 in a political crime that is yet to be solved.
Unfortunately, other companheiras (female comrades) who defend the right to life for the great majority of the population and the fundamental agendas of democracy within the spaces of the institutions have also had to deal with a scenario of daily attacks. This is the case for Talíria Petrone, who is currently a PSOL deputy in the state of Rio de Janeiro, who began her public life in tandem with Marielle, and shared with her the difficulties of being a black woman in a local parliament.
Talíria Petrone lives under the constant threat of death because she uses her elected position to broaden democratic and human rights and end the genocide against black people. Since taking office as a deputy, she has been officially notified of six reported plans to execute her. Even though she is an elected parliamentarian who won over 100,000 votes, her protection is not fully guaranteed by the state.
We know that this is a sad reality for many left-wing female parliamentarians, especially those who are black, around the world. This is further exacerbated in countries that are marked by colonization and those with historical instabilities and institutional weaknesses. In Brazil, the women who lend themselves to the struggle against the power structures and speak up in parliament for those in the favelas (slums), the indigenous communities, immigrants, and those persecuted and criminalized by the state, are one of the main targets for the rising policy of hate.
According to a recent study by civil society organizations Terra de Direitos and Justiça Global, women are the targets of 76% of all political violence in Brazil. The attacks against these women take on their own profile as challenges to the authority of these women as political agents.
This scenario is a powerful obstacle to the overcoming of conservatism and the deepening of democracy around the world. If women are going to compete and occupy positions of power, they must be guaranteed the right to be able to put themselves in the public sphere, free from threats, constraints, and discrimination. Above all, they must be guaranteed the right to live.
Attacks on women and black figures should not be naturalized in any context, including when they are exercising their parliamentary mandates and standing for election. The population should not have to receive the message that power should not be occupied by those who represent over half of the population, and there should be no institutional space which women are prohibited or discouraged from being in.
The struggle against political violence based on gender and race is a task for all of us. Therefore, we express our solidarity and support to federal deputy Talíria Petrone and all of Brazil’s female deputies and candidates, and in particular to those who are black, and we urge the institutions of Brazil to take effective steps to ensure the safety of these people.
Some of the names that have signed the manifesto include:
Benedita da Silva: Former Workers’ Party (PT) governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and the first female and Afro-Brazilian governor of that state.
Celso Amorin: Former Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations and Minister of Defense.
Jupiara Castro: Founder of the Black Consciousness Center (NCN) at the University of São Paulo.
Douglas Belchior: Brazilian anti-racist educator and social leader.
Fernando Haddad: Workers’ Party (PT) 2018 presidential candidate.
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro: Former Brazilian Secretary of State for Human Rights and former UN Special Rapporteur.
Óscar Laborde: President of the Mercosur Parliament, Argentina.
Kshama Sawant: Seattle City Councillor, Socialist Alternative, United States of America.
Diana Riba i Giner: Member of the European Parliament, Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Spanish State.
Piedad Esneda Córdoba: Former Liberal Party Senator, Colombia.
Leïla Chaibi: Member of the European Parliament, France Unbowed (LFI), France.
Sandra Fay: South Dublin County Councillor for Solidarity – The Left Alternative and Socialist Party member, Ireland.
Isabel Santos: Member of the European Parliament, Socialist Party, Portugal.
Helmut Scholz: Member of the European Parliament, Die Linke (The Left), Germany.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel: Nobel Peace Prize winner, Argentina.
Bianca Santana: Brazilian writer, journalist and member of the Union of Popular Education Centres for Black and Working-Class People (UNEafro).
Driade Aguiar: Co-founder of NINJA Media.
Judith Butler: Philosopher and gender theorist, University of California, Berkeley, United States of America.
Jules Falquet: Sociologist and Feminist, Paris Diderot University (Paris 7), France.
Jurema Werneck: Director of Amnesty International, Brazil.
Iêda Leal: National Coordinator of the Unified Black Movement (MNU).
Nancy Fraser: Professor at The New School, New York City, United States of America.
Tithi Bhattacharya: Professor at Purdue University, United States of America.
Cinzia Arruzza: Professor at The New School, New York City, United States of America.
Citlalli Hernández, General Secretary of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), Mexico.
Nora Cortiñas: Founder of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Argentina.
Pilar del Río: Spanish journalist and president of the José Saramago Foundation.
Silvio Almeida: Professor at the Mackenzie Presbyterian University (UPM) and the Getúlio Vargas Fundation.
Vilma Reis: Sociologist, feminist, Black Women’s Movement (MMN) activist, human rights defender and co-founder of the Mahin – Black Women’s Organization.
Astrid Fontenelle: Brazilian journalist and TV presenter.
Chico Buarque: Brazilian singer-songwriter and composer.
Dira Paes: Brazilian actress.
Elisa Lucinda: Brazilian actress and writer.
Flávia Oliveira: Brazilian journalist.
Hildegard Angel: Brazilian journalist, founder of the Zuzu Angel Institute.
Sonia Braga: Brazilian actress.
Teresa Cristina: Brazilian singer.
Tuca Andrada: Brazilian actor.
Debora Lamm: Brazilian actress and theater director.
We thank everyone who has already signed this manifesto and count on your support as well, thus expanding our list in defense of democracy, against political violence and in defense of deputy Talíria Petrone.
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