Lula raises his tone, but the government still calibrates its actions on factions

After the announcement that the United States will classify Brazilian criminal factions as terrorist groups, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) adopted a more combative speech against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), pre-candidate for the Presidency. The PT member directly associated the opponent's actions with the decision of Donald Trump's government and started using what happened to criticize Bolsonaro supporters.

The stance was also used as the official position of the Palácio do Planalto which, around 18 hours after the US announcement, released a statement saying that the Bolsonaro family's actions in the North American country are "deplorable".

Despite this, departments most associated with the topic, such as the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and Itamaraty itself, which is responsible for Brazilian diplomacy, did not present an official position on Trump's decision and still calibrate the way of acting in relation to the classification of Brazilian criminal factions.

Almost simultaneously with the release of Planalto's note, during the official agenda in Sergipe, President Lula took a tougher stance than in recent weeks against Flávio Bolsonaro, calling the senator a "traitor".

"There is no shame in betraying our homeland and going to the United States to ask for American intervention in Brazil", said the head of the Executive.

"If he were to ask for intervention to arrest a militia member, they would be trapped there," declared Lula. The speech makes reference to Flávio's former parliamentary advisor, Fabrício Queiroz, accused of having transferred more than R$200,000 to former military police officer Adriano da Nóbrega, accused of being part of a militia in Rio de Janeiro.

The PT member used the occasion to defend national sovereignty and ask for the approval of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of Public Security, articulated by his government. After being approved by the Chamber of Deputies, the text has been stuck in the Senate since March this year.

"Don't play with the sovereignty of this country, don't play with our democracy, don't doubt the things we do in this country. If you want to fight organized crime, approve the Public Security PEC that is in the Senate", he highlighted.

Planalto defends national sovereignty
Planalto's statement reiterated national sovereignty when addressing the decision of the North American government that considered, last Thursday (28), the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) and the CV (Comando Vermelho) as terrorist organizations.

"Brazil is a sovereign nation that has been in permanent combat against the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), the Comando Vermelho (CV) and other factions and militias that practice terrorism in the territories where millions of families live. Confronting these criminal organizations firmly is, and will continue to be, a priority of the Brazilian State", pointed out the government.

Another point raised was the diplomatic relationship with other countries for a joint fight against factions. "Organized crime does not respect borders and its fight requires joint action. We have built, over decades, partnerships with several countries, including the United States."

Despite the statement released by the Presidency and statements by President Lula, to date, Itamaraty has not released an official position on the US determinations, despite the fact that, internally, members of the government have classified the impacts of the measure as harmful to the Brazilian State.

Lula defends factional sovereignty, says Flávio
Among the opposition, the United States' measure was celebrated, with members of the group making associations between President Lula and organized crime.

During an appointment in Curitiba (PR) on Friday night (29), Flávio also used a provocative tone against the PT member. During the launch of PL candidacies in Paraná, the congressman said that Lula was "licking the boots" of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in the meeting he had with the Republican, at the beginning of the month.

The senator criticized Lula and said again that the opposition has already done more for Brazil than the PT administrations.

"We have already done more than Lula and PT in the last 20 years. Crime has taken over Brazil. While he was licking Trump's boots to lobby for the PCC and the CV, we went there to ask for them to be treated like terrorists and what they are."

In his speech, the PL pre-candidate also said that Lula defends the sovereignty of the PCC and the CV. He further insinuated that his opponent in this year's elections "is either part of narco-terrorist organizations or is being threatened by them."

"Lula is defending the sovereignty of the CV and the PCC. And we won't admit that," he said.

Analysis: Government calls Flávio's agenda in the USA "deplorable" | WW

Source: CNN