Artistas e intelectuais estrangeiros divulgam manifesto em defesa da democracia e contra o golpe no Brasil

Da esquerda para a direita, a partir do topo: Oliver Stone, Harry Belafonte, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sarandon, Naomi Klein, Vivienne Westwood, Tarik Ali, Danny Glover e Ken Loach

Artistas e intelectuais apoiam a democracia no Brasil*

24 de  agosto de 2016

Nos solidarizamos com nossos colegas artistas e com todos aqueles que lutam pela democracia e justiça em todo o Brasil.

Estamos preocupados com o impeachment de motivação política da presidenta, o qual instalou um governo provisório não eleito. A base jurídica para o impeachment em curso é amplamente questionável e existem evidências convincentes mostrando que os principais promotores da campanha do impeachment estão tentando remover a presidenta com o objetivo de parar investigações de corrupção nas quais eles próprios estão implicados.

Lamentamos que o governo interino no Brasil tenha substituído um ministério diversificado, dirigido pela primeira presidente mulher, por um ministério compostos por homens brancos, em um país onde a maioria se identifica como negros ou pardos. Tal governo também eliminou o Ministério das Mulheres, Igualdade Racial e dos Direitos Humanos. Visto que o Brasil é o quinto país mais populoso do mundo, estes acontecimentos são de grande importância para todos os que se preocupam com igualdade e direitos civis.

Esperamos que os senadores brasileiros respeitem o processo eleitoral de 2014, quando mais de 100 milhões de pessoas votaram. O Brasil emergiu de uma ditadura há apenas 30 anos, e esses eventos podem atrasar o progresso do país em termos de inclusão social e econômica por décadas. O Brasil é uma grande potência regional e tem a maior economia da América Latina. Se este ataque contra suas instituições democráticas for bem sucedido, as ondas de choque negativas irão reverberar em toda a região.

Tariq Ali – Escritor, jornalista e documentarista

Harry Belafonte – Ativista de direitos civis, cantor e ator

Noam Chomsky – Professor Emérito de Linguística no MIT, teórico e intelectual

Alan Cumming – Ator e escritor

Frances de la Tour – Atriz

Deborah Eisenberg – Escritora, atriz e professora

Brian Eno – Compositor, cantor, artista visual e produtor de disco

Eve Ensler – Dramaturga, autora de Monólogos da Vagina

Stephen Fry – Apresentador de televisão, ator e diretor. Em 2013, ele entrevistou Jair Bolsonaro (o vídeo legendado está aqui; vale a pena assistir)

Danny Glover – Ator e diretor de cinema

Daniel Hunt – Produtor musical e cineasta

Naomi Klein – Escritora e documentarista

Ken Loach – Cineasta

Tom Morello – Músico

Viggo Mortensen – Ator e músico

Michael Ondaatje – Novelista e poeta

Arundhati Roy – Escritora e ativista

Susan Sarandon – Atriz

John Sayles – Roteirista, diretor e novelista

Wallace Shawn – Ator, dramaturgo e comediante

Oliver Stone – Cineasta

Vivienne Westwood – Designer de moda

* Enviado por Maria Luisa Mendonça, de Berkeley, na Califórnia. Ela é co-diretora da Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humanos no Brasile professora de Relações Internacionais na Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). 

International artists and intellectuals urge Brazilian senators to respect 2014 election results

August 24, 2016

Before the imminent final vote in the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff, artists and intellectuals from the U.K., the U.S., Canada and India have released a statement exhorting Brazil’s senators to respect the result of the 2014 election, and criticizing the “politically motivated impeachment.” The statement warns that if this “sustained attack on [Brazil’s] democratic institutions” is successful then it could set Brazil back decades and have negative reverberations across the region.

The statement, signed by luminaries including the legendary singer, songwriter, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte, also expressed dismay over the all white, all male replacement of Dilma’s diverse cabinet and the elimination of the Ministry of Women, Racial Equality, and Human Rights. Other signers include the Academy Award winning actor Susan Sarandon, U.K. fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen, U.S. Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone, U.K. Cannes Film Award winning director Ken Loach, the Man Booker Prize winning Indian author Arundhati Roy, the actor and director Danny Glover, the linguist and activist Noam Chomsky and the noted British actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry, who in 2013 conducted a scathing interview of Jair Bolsonaro, a leading advocate of the impeachment and likely presidential candidate in the next Brazilian elections.

Brian Eno, the English composer, singer, visual artist and record producer who has worked with David Bowie, David Byrne, Talking Heads and U2, among others, also signed the statement. He noted that: “Hundreds of Brazilian musicians, actors, writers, filmmakers and other artists have bravely spoken out against the undemocratic efforts to remove the elected president Dilma Rousseff from office. . We want to show them and Brazil and the world that artists and intellectuals in the U.S., the U.K. and other parts of the world stand behind them, and support their fight for democracy, human rights and social justice in Brazil.”

This statement follows other international statements and letters denouncing the impeachment process against President Rousseff including a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signed by 43 U.S. members of Congress, a statement from 115 British public figures, including 35 parliamentarians, and a statement from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

The text of the statement and list of signers follows in English and Portuguese, with photos attached:

Artists and Intellectuals Support Democracy in Brazil

We stand in solidarity with our fellow artists and with all those fighting for democracy and justice throughout Brazil.

We are concerned about the politically motivated impeachment of the president, which has installed an unelected interim government. The legal basis for the ongoing impeachment is widely contested and there is compelling evidence showing that key promoters of the impeachment campaign are seeking to remove the president to stop the corruption investigations that they themselves are implicated in.

We regret that Brazil’s interim government has replaced a diverse cabinet, headed by Brazil’s first woman president, with an all white, male cabinet, in a country where the majority identify as black or mixed race. It has also eliminated the Ministry of Women, Racial Equality, and Human Rights. Given that Brazil is the world’s fifth most populous country, this is of huge significance for all who care about equality and civil rights.

We urge Brazilian senators to respect the October 2014 electoral process which over 100 million people took part in. Brazil has only emerged from dictatorship some 30 years ago and these events could set back the country’s progress towards social and economic inclusion by decades. Brazil is a major regional power and has the largest economy in Latin America. If this sustained attack on its democratic institutions is successful, the negative shock waves will reverberate throughout the region.

Signers:

Tariq Ali – Writer, journalist and filmmaker

Harry Belafonte – Civil rights activist, singer and actor

Noam Chomsky – Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at MIT, theorist and intellectual

Alan Cumming – Actor and author

Frances de la Tour – Actor

Deborah Eisenberg – Writer, actor and teacher

Brian Eno – Composer, singer, visual artist and record producer

Eve Ensler – Playwright, author of The Vagina Monologues

Stephen Fry – Broadcaster, actor, director. Interviewed Jair Bolsonaro (transcript here and video here)

Danny Glover – Actor and film director

Daniel Hunt – Music producer and filmmaker

Naomi Klein – Writer and filmmaker

Ken Loach – Filmmaker

Tom Morello – Musician

Viggo Mortensen – Actor and musician

Michael Ondaatje – Novelist and poet

Arundhati Roy – Author and activist

Susan Sarandon – Actor

John Sayles – Screenwriter, director and novelist

Wallace Shawn – Actor, playwright and comedian

Oliver Stone – Filmmaker

Vivienne Westwood – Fashion designer

Leia também:

Katarina Peixoto: A resistência internacional ao golpe