Human Rights Watch said Monday that President-elect Lula da Silva, the winner of the elections held in Brazil on Sunday, should prioritize the protection of human rights and reverse the «setbacks» of Jair Bolsonaro’s mandate.
«President Bolsonaro was a disaster for human rights, both at home and abroad,» said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
«President-elect Lula should begin working on a plan to reverse President Bolsonaro’s harmful policies in the areas of public safety, the environment, and women’s, LGBT, and indigenous rights, among others, and begin implementing that plan as soon as possible,» she said.
In this sense, the NGO has pointed out that Lula da Silva should repair the damage inflicted on the democratic system and the rule of law and strengthen judicial independence, broken by President Bolsonaro’s decision to break with the tradition whereby prosecutors across the country chose three candidates from which the attorney general was selected. «The attorney general, who should be independent, has been heavily criticized for appearing to make decisions in his favor and weakening the fight against corruption,» they criticize in the statement.
In addition, they have pointed out that he should promote accountability in congressional budget allocations and end the so-called «secret budget,» backed by President Bolsonaro, which redirected billions of dollars to House spending projects with virtually no information transferred.
They have also pointed out that the president-elect should make an effort to alleviate the learning losses from the pandemic, especially in black and indigenous children, as well as those from low-income households, who faced aggravated conditions under Bolsonaro’s administration. In this sense, they also invite to promote comprehensive sex education, which the previous executive opposed.
HRW has also pointed out the importance of promoting policies to reduce food insecurity, which has increased by 60 percent since 2018, a year before Bolsonaro’s inauguration.
«He should reverse the damage done to agencies charged with protecting the environment and indigenous rights, and strengthen law enforcement to combat the destruction of the Amazon and threats and attacks against forest defenders. Your administration should also increase the ambition of Brazil’s climate action plan in line with the Paris Agreement,» they have demanded on environmental issues.
In addition, they have requested that he end the barriers to abortion access enacted by the previous executive and develop a plan to curb police killings across the country.
«President-elect Lula must adopt policies that address Human Rights without discrimination, without stigmatizing those with different political opinions, reduce polarization in society and promote open and free public debate,» they concluded.
