Liberalism Requires Democracy, Says the President of Federation of Industries of São Paulo

Josué Gomes da Silva tells Folha that Brazil cannot accept congressional invasion like the US

The president of Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), Josué Gomes da Silva, considers it natural for the entity to support democracy in a manifesto. "There is no liberalism, market economy, or private property without democracy."

In an interview with Folha, the businessman says that without legal security, which depends on democracy and the rule of law, values so dear to the industrial sector would not stand.

FILE: Josue Gomes da Silva. Foto: Silvia Costanti / Valor - 1648

Fiesp publishes this Friday in some of the country's major newspapers, as an advertisement, the manifesto "In defense of democracy and justice".

The 107 signatories include the Brazilian Federation of Banks, the Brazilian Association of Basic Infrastructure and Industries, Fecomercio, and Sindusfarma.

Gomes da Silva says that "there is no way we can ignore the insecurity created by contesting the reliability of the electoral system and the judiciary". President Jair Bolsonaro has attacked the Federal Supreme Court, the Superior Electoral Court, and the voting system.

"We cannot accept the possibility of a 6th of January happening in Brazil", says the businessman.

On the date, in 2021, a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump, defeated at the polls, invaded the US Congress to try to prevent the inauguration of his successor, Joe Biden.

Translated by Cassy Dias

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