A gloomy atmosphere of suspended judgement surrounds the community of Fr John Caruana, a Maltese missionary in Sarandi, Brazil, after the country elected a far-right candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, to the presidency.
Fr Caruana, who has spent more than three decades in Brazil, told The Sunday Times of Malta: “If the pessimistic view prevails, our citizens are bound to suffer sooner or later – more sooner than later. Those who were led to vote against their own interests will unfortunately face the consequences of this sad result. The atmosphere as of today is of suspended judgement, with no celebrations.”
Fr Caruana noted that in the northeastern, poorer part of the country, Fernandez Haddad, the candidate of the Workers’ Party, won overwhelmingly. However, Bolsonaro was victorious in the rest of the country, within the wealthier and more populated south and southeast.
Fr Caruana’s town of Sarandi lies within the southeast. It is a periphery of the wealthier city of Maringa, where the president-elect obtained a majority of 75%. This, without doubt, influenced Sarandi – although the proportion stood at 60% to 40% in favour of Bolsonaro.
“Our parishioners consist of a minority of lower middle-class and a great majority of employees of the nearby factories and building industry,” he said.
I promise I will do my part so that the Church will not leave these peace-loving families alone
The Maltese missionary insisted that his opinion was not influenced by any partisanship although just like anybody else, he was not neutral. He was being as objective as he could, he pointed out.
Fr Caruana added that several human rights advocates were alarmed by the president-elect’s repeated praise for Brazil’s past military dictatorship. He also expressed alarm over Bolsonaro’s declaration that one of the first laws to be enacted will be to facilitate the sale of arms and the possibility to carry them in public.
“Just to give you an idea, in August Sarandi witnessed eight murders. Imagine what would happen with more arms in people’s hands,” he said.
Fr Caruana also referred to Bolsonaro’s recent assertions that he will treat social movements, specifically the internationally acclaimed Landless Peasants Movement, as terrorist movements.
“For years I have worked closely with farmers in our area and I can affirm that they are duly concerned. I promise I will do my part so that the Church will not leave these peace-loving families alone.”
Fr Caruana questioned how Brazil reached such an alarming situation, and answering his own question said people have grown allergic to politics and are “easy to manipulate”.
President-elect Bolsonaro has now nominated as justice minister a judge who doomed former centre-left president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s bid to return to power. Sergio Moro oversaw the ‘Operation Car Wash’ probe that sent Lula to prison, blocking him from running against Mr Bolsonaro.
Mr Bolsonaro’s opponents have long argued that the investigation was a political purge aimed at destroying Lula and his Workers Party.
Lula still registered his candidacy for the election from jail but he was barred from running by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, despite the UN human rights committee saying the leftist leader, who was leading the polls, could not be disqualified.
Before being barred, Fr Caruana had written to the President of the Supreme Federal Court in support of Lula’s liberty and urged him to save the reputation of the Brazilian judiciary.
“According to the polls in Brazil, Lula would have been an outright winner. With such a dark future it is difficult for the pessimists to be proven wrong – including in my hometown.”