Human Rights Watch has indicated this Monday that the elected president Lula da Silva, winner of the elections held in Brazil this Sunday, must 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 must start working on a plan to reverse President Bolsonaro’s harmful policies in the areas of public security, the environment, and women’s, LGBT, and indigenous rights, among others, and start implementing that plan as soon as possible.” as possible,” he declared.
In this sense, the NGO has pointed out that Lula da Silva must 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 by which prosecutors from all the country elected 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 it must promote accountability in congressional budget allocations and put an end to the so-called “secret budget”, backed by President Bolsonaro, which redirected billions of dollars to House spending projects practically without transferring information.
They have also pointed out that the president-elect must make an effort to alleviate the learning losses of the pandemic, especially in black and indigenous children, as well as those from low-income households, who faced conditions aggravated by the Bolsonaro administration. In that sense, they also invite to promote a comprehensive sexual education to which the previous executive opposed.
HRW has also pointed to the importance of promoting policies to reduce food insecurity, which has increased by 60 percent since 2018, a year before Bolsonaro’s inauguration.
“He must reverse the damage done to agencies tasked with protecting the environment and indigenous rights, and strengthen law enforcement to fight the destruction of the Amazon and threats and attacks against forest defenders. His administration must also should increase the ambition of Brazil’s climate action plan in line with the Paris Agreement”, they have demanded in environmental matters.
In addition, they have requested that he end the barriers to access abortion promulgated by the previous executive and develop a plan to stop police murders throughout the country.
“President-elect Lula must adopt policies that address Human Rights without any discrimination, without stigmatizing those who have different political opinions, reduce polarization in society and promote open and free public debate,” they concluded.
Europa Press