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Dilma Is Not Collor, And 2016 Is Not 1992

04/26/2016 - 12h47

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VERA GUIMARÃES MARTINS
ombudsman@uol.com.br

Here is a message from Isabela Torezan, 19, from Londrina in southern Paraná state: "I am a student and Folha reader since age 14, and I would like to express my discomfort with the front page of the print edition on April 18, which carried the word IMPEACHMENT laid out in big letters and even accompanied by a '!.' Besides being sensationalistic, it misinforms the reader, because it announces an event that did not occur. The sequence of the headline disproves that President Dilma [Rousseff] has already been subjected to impeachment."

"If I understood it correctly, this front page mimicked the one in 1992, when [Fernando] Collor was removed. Does Folha equal the opening of a process with removal? If Dilma really does undergo impeachment, what exaggerated headline will the newspaper use? The newspaper's commitment is to carry clear information which does not contradict nor exceed the facts. It is the right of the reader to get this, independent of how happy or sad readers are with the result of the voting."

I approve of Isabela's message above. Mimicking the front page of the vote to impeach Fernando Collor was an unfortunate idea. First, the political situation of both is different. Second, the deplorable spectacle of voting provoked an uncomfortable sensation of history repeating itself as a farce (excuse the cliché). The replay on the front page reinforced this sentiment and brought Folha close to the lack of sobriety lavished on the Congress.

I make it clear that I am not casting doubt on the legality of the process nor endorsing the government narrative that it is a "coup." I only regret the lack of restraint which ended up eroding the attempt by this newspaper to maintain a more balanced position amid the hysteria.

Vinicius Mota, in charge of Folha's editing desk, defended the choice: "Impeachment, in its first meaning, is the name of the process for the crime of culpability. At the end of it, there may or may not be constitutional removal."

The trouble is that the second meaning of the term is much more popular: in common usage, impeachment is the removal of the elected official.

Mota asserts that the exclamation "highlights the exceptional incidence of this event." I would say that it's not so exceptional as that since it occurred for the second time in 24 years. Besides this, the graphic character used in the announcement gave an air of jubilation not consistent with the editorial "Neither Dilma Nor (Vice President Michel) Temer" and the gravity that the moment demands.

*

END OF MY TERM, READERS

The top three most stressful jobs, according to a Twitter message: 1) Air traffic controller; 2) Someone who gathers dead animals on the highway; and 3) Folha ombudsman. The joke is an exaggeration, but it has a grain of truth.

There is no lack of more stressful jobs than this one, but I agree with colleagues who preceded me: two years is the ideal term, while the rules allow double the time. I decided to stay for half the time, convinced that going halfway was already a long road, and then some.

Being ombudsman is a great privilege and a magnificent learning experience. There are those who think that the job offers nothing more than a series of frustrating conflicts with the newsroom. That's false and unjust.

This space on Sunday is only the public face and, moreover, the most visible part of the job. It's worth emphasizing the valuable experience of daily critiques which circulate internally in the newsroom, dedicated to discussing errors and successes in the edition, suggestions, and corrections in direction. Seeing a good part of these interventions contemplated at newspapers in the following days is a professional privilege enjoyed by few.

I leave with an enormous gratitude for readers who followed me closely, stitching together polite criticism, pointing out problems, debating ideas, and planting affection. I also thank above all those imbued with the conscience that the "Folha reader" is an entity composed of millions of different heads. You are collectively the best part of everything.

I want to thank the hundreds of subscribers, public figures or not, interviewed for the internal critique. Your opinions were a precious beacon for the ombudsman and the newspaper.

I appreciate my colleagues who faced public criticism with the understanding that they have a debt to their profession and the process.

Finally, my respect to Folha's management for the absolute freedom given to my work.

I congratulate Paula Cesarino Costa, one of the most experienced and capable professionals at this newspaper, to whom I pass the baton.

Best wishes to all.

Translated by JOHN WRIGHT

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