Bulletin 138 – People’s Committee in Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil – 7/6/2018 – 20:45
1. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been maintained as a political prisoner in Curitiba for three months. Since then, the location has become a symbol of resistance and struggle for Democracy and Freedom. Lula, pre-candidate from PT for President of the Republic, is hoping that the judiciary will appreciate the various motions filed by his defense lawyers so that he can prove his innocence in freedom until the final appeals are ruled on. Read more here: http://www.pt.org.br/lula-esta-ha-90-dias-como-preso-politico-resistencia-continua/
2. But ex-President Lula is not alone. Every day he can hear a chorus of hundreds of voices, with accents from all over Brazil yelling “good morning” and “good night” to him. During these 90 days, the #LulaLivre Vigil, a camp of leftist activists in permanent protest for Lula’s freedom has stayed put, despite threats from the police and the judiciary.
3. One year ago the Workers Party held its 6th National Congress – in homage to Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva – and renewed the party leadership, strengthened internal unity and for the first time, elected a woman, PT senatorial leader Gleisi Hoffmann, as its National President. Since then the party has concentrated its efforts on building Lula’s presidential candidacy so that he can restart the plan for development with social inclusion which was forcefully stopped by the 2016 coup. Read more: http://www.pt.org.br/ha-um-ano-pt-renovou-direcao-e-fortaleceu-a-unidade/
4. Ex-President Lula sent a message to the Michel Temer government, which has already sold off the pre-salt offshore petroleum reserves and is not handing over Eletrobras state power company and the Embraer aviation company to foreign corporations. “No country will ever be big if it doesn’t think big. No country will ever have a better future if it does not built one in the present. The drop in investments in education and the sale of the state companies are the face of a government that is putting the nation up for sale, without worrying about tomorrow,” he said, in a message posted on Twitter. Read more here: https://twitter.com/LulaOficial/status/105189393722822659
5. Dona Isabel Alves, who is from upstate Bahia, is one of the Brazilian woman who has not forgotten how much President Lula did to advance social inclusion in this country. She says that before Lula, there were often problems getting water in the Northeast and that sometimes she had to walk two leagues to get it, and “there wouldn’t even be a gallon.” In an interview recorded in 2009, after she started benefiting from the Water for Everyone program, which Lula’s government created to bring pure and accessible water to the driest regions in Brazil, she said, “I am very happy. There are times I drink it now when I am not even thirsty because it is so delicious and marvelous.” Read more: http://www.pt.org.br/assista-dona-isabel-diz-porque-o-nordeste-nao-esquece-de-lula/
6. On this Friday, as is the tradition, the activists who are camped out in Curitiba held the symbolic act, “Lights for Lula”, lighting candles for the ex-President during the “good night” yell. Watch video footage here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=236643640397035&id=201372683924131
Bulletin 138 – People’s Committee in Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil – 7/6/2018 – 20:45
