In the name of the Congressional Workers Party Bloc, we express our total solidarity with Congressman Jean Wyllys (PSOL-Rio de Janeiro), upon hearing the announcement that he is resigning from his parliamentary mandate and leaving the country because of the grave threats that he has received.
We regret and understand his decision. We live in a country governed by people who have notorious connections to militias,which are a form of organized crime that – much like mafia organizations in other countries – treat adversaries through physical elimination, as shown in the case of Marielle Franco, a comrade both in Jean Wyllys political party and in his struggles, who was assassinated in March 2018.
Elected as representative of the people of Rio de Janeiro for a third mandate, from his first months of work in Congress Jean Wyllys became a national and international reference in the defense of human rights and the struggles of the social movements, especially with regards to the LGBTI population.
Faced with this extremely grave situation, we demand that the Judiciary and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office adopt all necessary measures to ensure the rapid and effective investigation into the threats made against Jean Wyllys. The Brazilian state has the obligation to guarantee the physical protection for the Congressman, but also to discover and punish the authors of these criminal acts, which represent coercion not only against the PSOL Congressman, but against all human rights defenders whether they hold popular mandates or not.
We will continue in the struggle for the defense of democracy and human rights for the Brazilian people.
Brasília, DF, January 24, 2019.
Congressman Paulo Pimenta
PT Leader in Congress
