The conclusion is unanimous. The actions on June 19 for “vaccine in the arm, food on the plate and get out Bolsonaro”, were bigger than the mobilizations of May 29. According to the organizers, activities were organized in around 400 cities in all of the states in the country. Despite the rain which caused the cancellation of actions in some regions, around 750,000 protesters took to the streets, 25% more than the protests last month.

“The discontent with the Bolsonaro government that is already manifesting in polls was also expressed on the streets. 19J mobilized more people and there were even people participating that were already vaccinated, because while 29M saw the participation of mostly youth, there were also elderly in 19J,” explained Jessy Dayane of the national board of Levante Popular da Juventude (Popular Youth Uprising).

The central trade unions part of the call for the mobilization also had a positive evaluation.

“The political dispute in the country is on another level. There is an increase in discontent with Bolsonaro and the feeling of opposition is gaining strength in our country. Many people that voted for Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets yesterday to say enough of this project of national destruction,” declared Edson Carneiro, director of Intersindical.

While the country has suffered 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 and there have been around 17.8 million infected, protesters participated in the mobilizations using masks and distributing hand sanitizer. People carried signs referring to the evidence presented by the CPI (Senate Investigative Committee) on the pandemic about the responsibility of the Executive for the deaths so far.

There were around 100 emails from the Pfizer company, according to Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AM), offering vaccines at a lower price than established on the market that were unanswered. In addition to this, the government refused 11 other vaccine contracts, while it sought on 84 different occasions to buy chloroquine, a medicine that does not have proven effectiveness against sars-cov2 but was included in the kit of “early treatment” shared by the government.

“If the government had been minimally oriented by science, it would have sought to work alongside the state governors and the mayors, and Brazil could have avoided 70% of the deaths that occurred due to the complete lack of control and policy of Bolsonaro to test herd immunity through contamination,” affirmed the director of Intersindical.

Response

On social media, several political leaders also declared their support to the mobilizations.

“With rain and cold, Curitiba resists! We are all tired of this government of death, of hatred, and of lies. In all of Brazil, the mobilizations took place with the strong message of Out Bolsonaro!,” wrote the president of the Workers’ Party of Brazil (PT), Gleisi Hoffman.

The senator and president of the CPI for the Pandemic, Renan Calheiros also criticized the Executive. “The expressive mobilizations in rejection of the government of death have become more relevant in the context of the pandemic. All of Brazil mourns 500,000 deaths, except the president. This says a lot about his character,” affirmed the member of parliament.

In the same sense, the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Gilmar Mendes wrote: “I hope that the lessons learned can build a more just and supportive society for the future. Social responsibility now.”

Internationally, there were protests in 17 countries across the world with Brazilians and non-Brazilians condemning the public health crisis suffered in the country.

“Without a doubt it will have a national and international impact to question and pressure the president Bolsonaro. We believe that this will increase even more the discontent with the government to be able to defeat it with an impeachment or in the polls next year,” analyzed Jessy Dayane.

Next steps

Now the people’s movements, political parties, and popular fronts that called for the last mobilizations will organize a meeting to define the next steps, considering that the prediction is that Brazil will face a third wave of infections.

For Edson Carneiro, it is a moment to intensify street protests, because while traditional media has changed its position towards the current government, the elites continue to support the economic agenda of Bolsonaro.

“In this confrontation of the extreme-right and of neoliberalism of the traditional right, the unity of people’s movements around a project of national reconstruction is what will make the difference in the political battle in the next period in Brazil,” declared the trade union leader.

At the same time, a “super request” for impeachment is being elaborated, that brings together 20 denouncements of crimes of responsibility committed by Bolsonaro. The current president broke a record of 122 impeachment requests made in his term.

Originally posted on: https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/06/21/mobilizations-against-bolsonaro-g...