2023-07-22 04:34:56
The thumb and index finger alluding to a gun became a common gesture of Jair Bolsonaro. The hand of the far-right president did nothing more than express his policy in favor of the use of firearms. During his management, the records of these weapons in private hands increased fivefold. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva He has just made a decision with a high symbolic impact to sign a decree that puts an end to the legal device that his predecessor had promoted. “It is one thing for a citizen to have a weapon at home, for protection, because there are people who think that having a weapon at home is security. What cannot be allowed is that there are stockpiles of weapons in the hands of people,” he explained.
The leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) did nothing more than take the situation back to before 2018. Brazilians will be able to access a weapon based on the restrictions prior to the arrival of Bolsonarismo to power: they must explain the reasons for this collection. The collectors, lovers of hunting and frequenters of shooting clubs will only be able to buy six and not 60 units. they could buy up to 60 weapons a year, now there will be a maximum of six. Shooting clubs, which flourished like mushrooms, will no longer be able to be open 24 hours or located near an educational institution.
campaign promise
Throughout his electoral campaign, Lula had promised to toughen access to weapons. His message was in tune with the concerns of a good part of society. A survey by the Datafolha consultancy in May 2022 had found that the majority of the population disagreed with the idea that weapons provide more security. Asked about the phrase “society would be safer if people carried weapons to protect themselves from violence”, 72% of those surveyed disagreed.
Lula recalled his campaign promise in the framework of his inauguration, on January 1, when he described as “criminal” the measures that his predecessor had adopted in this matter. “Brazil does not want more weapons, it wants peace and security for its people.” That same day, the new president began to lay the foundations for the decree that was released this Friday.
The Government will, in turn, launch an offensive aimed at recovering part of those supplies in private hands. “We will follow the path of persuasion through economic incentives, in this case the buyback program“, said the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino. What it is about is reducing circulation. According to the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook, known days ago, in 2022 there were 1.5 million legally registered weapons in the country, almost 50% more than when Bolsonaro began his term.
Related news
Lula’s decree was predictably resisted by the far-right parliamentary base. Federal deputy Júlia Zanatta considered that the PT has actually demolished the path started four years ago. “Bolsonaro, thinking of facilitating access to weapons for good citizens, issued some decrees. And now we are back to the starting point, to a much worse situation than it was before, in reality.”
The background of violence
The measure was announced at a time when the latest conclusions of the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook on the ways in which violence impacts in that country are being debated. Renato Sérgio de Lima, director-president of the Brazilian Public Security Forum, pointed out in this regard that the figures for 2022 reveal once again, “the catastrophic scenario” Existing. Despite the 2.4% reduction in intentional violent deaths last year, “worsening of all indicators of domestic violence, the record number of rapes, the exponential growth of fraud and the number of lost weapons make it impossible to celebrate”. In this sense, he remarked that Brazil “it has become more insecure for the black population, the main victim of all violence, as well as for millions of women, children and LGBTQIA+ people”.
#ease #buying #weapons