PDO: On the above scenario, what will the outspreads of this political struggle be like?

José Medeiros da Silva: We are now at this momentum of attack and defense. On this scenario, governability, either by Ms. Rousseff or by Mr. Temer, is not the heart of the matter, although everybody will deny that. At this moment, the conductors of the national political system are worried about consolidating their strengths and positions. They know the main fight is still to be battled. We are only at the beginning of a very long struggle. In this sense, the political crisis has not achieved the deepest of the well. Many things may impact the public opinion. In other words, we will still have a lot of turbulence until the waters can flow more smoothly. We are dealing with a political struggle with little room for a real popular mediation. Maybe there is the real big failure.

PDO: It is a very complex political scenario, right?

José Medeiros da Silva: Yes. Very complex and, because of this, it arouses emotions. The admission vote on the impeachment process by the Chamber of Deputies on the 17th of April stirred so much with the feelings of the Brazilians that the television audience must have surpassed the final of the World Cup, considering Brazil in the dispute for the winner title! To understand everything better, there is nothing like using the ‘metaphor’ of a war.

At the present battle field, two big groups are fighting. On the one side, a group led by the ex-president Lula and president Dilma Rousseff reelected in 2014. On the other side, a group commanded by the vice-president Michel Temer and the main sectors of the opposition, beaten in the last presidential elections.

And the battles of this war happen simultaneously in four operation theaters. One is the executive power, the government itself, which will be soon taken by the vice-president Mr. Temer. From the operational point of view, this is the main battle field, for it is the power which possesses the safe box key. The second is the legislative power, namely the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. The Chamber fought its first battle on the 17th of April, when it authorized the start of the impeachment process. Then the protagonism was in the hands of the Senate. From the 13th of May, 2016, they will have six months to decide whether Ms. Rousseff will lose her mandate or not. If she gains the support of 28 from the 81 senators at the end of the judgement of the process, she can return to power. The third operation theater is the judicial power in its greatest expression, the Federal Court of Justice (Supremo Tribunal Federal, STF). This is the real power which will have the final word to legitimate or not, from the formal viewpoint, the decisions made by the Senate. The fourth and most important stage of this dispute is the society as a whole, that is to say, the people. This is the most unpredictable of all the battle fields, and it is where the main struggle will be fought.

In the last instance, this ‘war’ for the control of the political power in Brazil will be again decided by the people, taking for granted that democracy still prevails. Although they want to put off the call of the people to make a decision on the crisis, this will be a necessary and inevitable way. That is, only the people have the authority to define the progress of this process. If it is true that the most of the public opinion rejects Ms. Rousseff, it is also true that they do not show trust in Mr. Temer nor in the big set of the present Brazilian political operators. The Congress and the STF can only ensure the formal legitimacy. In the last instance, the people will give the real legitimacy. One cannot hide the people for such a long time

PDO: At last, what will the relations between Brazil-China be like in a possible government by Mr. Temer? And the Olympics?

José Medeiros da Silva: To make it short, I would say that, independently from the government, Brazil will know how to deal with the world. And will certainly be able to understand the importance of the strategic partnership with China and with other partners for the development of the national project. The point is that in our life, as in other nations’ lives, History is full of curves. And the curves make us momentarily feel that we are going back. Now, we are in one of these curves.

About the Olympics, I think it will be successful, as much as the World Cup was. Independently from the elites, the Brazilian people have always been very welcoming and friendly. That is the key for the success. If the Brazilian elites could not realize the importance of the Olympics to show the best of Brazil, our people will not disappoint the world. Our friendship, solidarity and happiness are features deeply rooted in the soul of the Brazilians. This cannot be taken away in any way. Embracing the other has always been a reason for us to feel happy. Brazilians, which have always embraced the peoples of the whole world, is now in the need of a tender embrace from the other peoples. I am sure that the nations will receive this embrace in the Olympics, and they will receive a bigger one back.

Translated by Marcia Cristina Ghirardello