40th Anniversary of Redemocratization in Brazil

                    One week ago, precisely on 15th March the return of democracy in Brazil completed 40 years. We all must always defend democracy, human rights, potilical inclusion and justice. We need not only to defend democracy, but search for the improvement of democracy. We must always remember that there is not democracy without human rights and there is not human rights without democracy. For more than two decades I have had this actvism for better political education, for more respect for human rights, for better justice,  I have a YouTube channel here is the link.   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos.            This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/politica/noticia/2025-03/brazil-celebrates-40-years-end-military-dictatorship. The second was published athttps://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Brazil.pdf

                       Brazil's current democratic regime has celebrated its 40th anniversary. It is the longest uninterrupted democratic period in the country's history since the proclamation of the republic in 1889. A lengthy process resulted in the end of 21 years of dictatorship (1964-1985), with the redemocratization being marked by the inauguration of José Sarney as president on March 15, 1985. Until then, Sarney had been the vice-president of president-elect Tancredo Neves. The election had taken place two months earlier by indirect vote, through the Congress. However, Neves's health deteriorated and he had to be hospitalized the day before the swearing-in ceremony. Sarney then took over on an interim basis. "Neves didn't want to be operated on without seeing that the democratic transition would take place, because he knew we could have a political setback if we fell into disagreement," Sarney noted during an event in Brasilia celebrating the date. Noting that Brazil was facing major uncertainties about the nation's political future and the fear that the military would refuse to hand power back to society, Sarney said that Tancredo only agreed to undergo intestinal surgery when he was assured that Sarney would be sworn in, that the Federal Constitution would be observed, and that "the democratic transition would be guided by the law." Tancredo Neves died on April 21, after 39 days in hospital, aged 75. Following his passing, Congress installed Sarney as president. "Those were years of struggle. Setbacks were not only possible but likely, but we managed to overcome them," Sarney declared. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva used his social media to celebrate the date. On X, he wrote that, beyond the significance of the inauguration of a new president, March 15, 1985, went down in history as "the day Brazil reunited with democracy." He added, "Sarney governed under the constant threat of those who longed for a returned of the dictatorship, but with extraordinary skill and political commitment he bought the conditions for us to write the Citizen Constitution of 1988 and change Brazil's history." In a video message, the head of Brazil's Supreme Court Carmen Lúcia said that democracy is under permanent construction.                                                                                                                                                                             Brazil was ruled by the military since 1964. Repression peaked in the early 1970s. Impatience with the military regime accelerated after the economy went into crisis in 1982. By 1985, though an attempt to install its preferred candidate in the presidency, the opposition was able to overcome the system of indirect election and prevail in the election. A sanctioned opposition had been permitted for most of the period of military rule, but the military regime proved increasingly incapable of holding democratic demands in check. Direct elections of governorsand federal and local representatives were reintroduced in 1982. While not formally unified, opposition groups frequently cooperated in order to organize mass demonstrations, such as of 1983 and 1984, calling for direct presidential elections. That effort failed, but the military was unable to prevent opposition candidate Tancredo Neves from triumphing in indirect elections in 1985. Direct elections to the presidency returned in 1989, and different parties have come to power since that time.