The establishment media seek to convey a discouraging impression of Brazil as a country where the majority of the population prefers immorality and egalitarian decadence. However, this is a very partial view of reality that does not consider the deepest aspects of the Brazilian soul.
Geraldo Galindo, leader of the Communist Party of Brazil in the state of Bahia, looks with communist eyes at these deeper aspects of Brazil and posted his conclusions on the web site Vermelho.org, maintained by the Associação Vermelho [Red Association] by agreement with the Communist Party of Brazil.
He says:
“A majority of the people [in Brazil] are against abortion, same-sex ‘marriage,’ disarmament, secularizing laws, etc.
“This results, among many other factors, from a religious influence that is still very strong in our society, which has blocked the approval of proposals that would have made the country advance toward a more civilized state – and also from the strength of dozens of conservative parties present in the political fray.
“Here in Bruzundanga, when we talk about respect for human rights, the rightists say we are siding with bandits; when we defend quotas for blacks and the poor, they say we are rewarding ignorance; when we say that a woman’s body belongs to her and she’s the one that must decide about it, the reactionaries say her body belongs to God and the rules of that god must prevail; and they accuse us of proposing the murder of defenseless children.
“When we want to punish parents who spank their children, they argue it is government interference in family matters; when we propose union between homosexuals and combat against homophobia, they say we are campaigning to make people choose homosexuality; when we defend gun control, they affirm we want to disarm the people while leaving bandits well-armed.
“When we combat racism, they say we are preaching racial hatred; if we stand against the teaching of religion in schools, they say we are materialistic atheists who want to ban the Bible.
“When we defend social programs for the poor, they say we want a welfare state and are encouraging laziness. When we defend stem-cell research to cure illness, they say we are threatening divine laws. When we cry out against machoism, they claim it is Brazilian tradition. When we want to investigate the crimes of the dictatorship they accuse us of revanchism.…
“The worst of all is that at times persons seen as ‘leftist’ and who theoretically should support libertarian causes assimilate that kind of argumentation, as can be seen in the participation of Labor Party deputies in public demonstrations against homosexuals and abortion rights for women.…”
The testimony of this communist leader shows that the Brazilian people still possess, in the innermost recesses of their soul, reserves of common sense and morality that make them react against all factors of social and religious decay.
However, they lack authentic elites that can represent them and lead Brazil toward a truly moral order and prosperity. It is also painful to say, but they often lack courageous and uncompromising prelates truly disposed to lead the fold of Jesus Christ on the paths of Christian civilization rather than the crooked roads leading to the abyss such as those proposed by the Communist Party of Brazil and their ilk.