Brazil produces saints
at a higher rate than the Catholic Church,
which requires that he/she has performed at least two miracles.
In Brazil no miracles are necessary. As soon as we entered into
a new century, two ruffians who fought for the destruction of
our country are made into two people who built our history.
by: Janer
Cristaldo
Carlos Heitor
Cony
He is great. Last Monday, while participating in the campaign "The Best
of Brazil is the Brazilian", President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
said the country does not revere its heroes, only sports idols, and that our
nation’s youth needs references. His intention is to promote Brazilian self-esteem.
To kick off the campaign,
four TV commercials, newspaper and magazines ads, and spots on radio were
created at no cost, highlighting examples of noted and anonymous individuals,
who overcame obstacles to become successful
like soccer player Ronaldinho.
While claiming that Brazil
doesn’t worship heroes, only sports idols, Lula maintains that Brazil is a
country without heroes, with the exception of Pelé, Ayrton Senna, and
other athletes.
Whereas before it would
take the President two to three days to contradict himself, todayin
an extraordinary performancehe has done so in a matter of two to three
seconds.
"We don’t have the
symbols that every country does," he went on, "because for some
time this nation believed it was possible to live without references."
I believe we have an obligation to contribute to the development of a new
era in the life of our nation."
That said, he left to
watch the movie Olga, by Jayme Monjardim, at the Palácio Alvorada,
the presidential residence. He then said that the history of communist militants
Olga Benário and Luiz Carlos Prestes was important, at a time when
his administration is investing in Brazilian self-esteem and political education.
If the best of Brazil
is the Brazilian, who is this lady whose biography is so important, as the
government promotes citizen self-esteem? In case someone doesn’t know, Olga
is a Jewish German communist, who climbed to the post of Red Army Officer,
and came to Brazil under Moscow’s command to protect Luiz Carlos Prestes,
this other great Brazilian hero, who fought his whole life to mold the country
down to a dictatorship, in accordance to the best Soviet models.
Camila Morgado, the actress
in the role of Olga, said that the politicians in attendance were much moved.
"They were watching a movie that also shows two people who contributed
to our history."
The other day, I made
the statement that Brazil produces saints at a higher rate than Pope John
Paul II. The Vatican canonizes someone only when it has been proven that he/she
has performed at least two miracles.
In this self-esteemed
Brazil of ours no miracles are necessary. Dying does the job. As soon as we
turned the corner into a new century, two ruffianswho fought for the
destruction of our countryare made into two people who built our history.
That same week, another
widower gave a unique contribution to Brazilian self-esteem. This time, the
honors belonged to Minister Aldo Rabelo, from PC do B (Communist Party of
Brazil), who cited Mao Tse Tung, during an address to his office staff and
employees.
"Keep up modesty
and prudence, avoid arrogance, and keep up the arduous battle."
It was by avoiding arrogance
and keeping up modesty, prudence and the arduous battle that this extraordinary
humanist managed to carry out the greatest massacre of the last century: 65
million Chinese people.
Stalin, the spiritual
master of this fabulous Brazilian who energizes our sense of self-esteemLuiz
Carlos Prestes, less modest and prudent, managed to exterminate only
20 million.
The communists, or journey
comrades, who hold power in Brazil today, always remind me of one of the most
beautiful movies by Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove.
The German scientist,
recycled by the Americans in order to build the atomic bomb, even on a wheelchair,
never does away with his Nazi reflexes. Every so often he is forced to use
his left arm to control his right, which insists on rising, in salute to the
Fuhrer.
A month doesn’t go by
in this unfortunate nation without Lula and his ministers raising one hypothetical
arm in salute to tyrannies of the last century.
Well, some less informed
reader may say, since we live in a democratic regime, it doesn’t matter that
our leaders evoke heroes from their youth, in a momentary lapse.
That is not the problem.
It just so happens, that no matter how demoralized such heroes are, they constitute
the foundation of the enormous fabrication upon which PT (Workers’ Party)
and other left-wing parties grew from.
Mao, Stalin, Castro, Prestes,
Olga, Marighela, Lamarca, and so many others represent tutoring saints who
guarantee obscene retirements that provide comfort and spiritual tranquility
to their partisans today.
The sanctity and heroism
of these formidable scoundrels need to be reminded at all times, or else the
nation may forget that their followers are heroes, and not barbaric terrorists.
The millions in retirement
pensions for Lula’s chief of staff José Dirceu or writer Carlos Heitor
Cony can only survive as long as this deception is in effect.
On the day the nation
comes to the realization that these iconsidolized by the Leftwere
none but great assassins, the perks of thousands of communists who tried to
destroy the country would be viewed as an award to ignominy.
Therefore, every now and
then, it pays to evoke the divinities that assure us our everyday scotch whiskey.
The immortal (in Brazil
members of the Brazilian Academy of letters are called immortals) Carlos Heitor
Cony, for example, began receiving a miserly R$ 19,000 (approximately US$
6,000), for disservices rendered to the country.
It’s a sum to cheer up
the self-esteem not only of immortals, but also any mere mortal. The claims
for damages and compensation by militants, barred from leading the nation
into tyranny and misery, already add up to 43 thousand. It is estimated that
such compensations may reach up to four billion reais (close to US$ 1.3 billion).
Furthermore: those granted
with this generosity from our government are exempt from income tax. Income
tax is for people who work and support these maharajas (common term
used in Brazil to allude to royals who live off the common people’s sacrifices).
Since the funds to reward
these criminals must come from somewhere, the government has forayed into
the pockets of retirees. It started with a 30 percent assault to their pensions.
Insatiable, it wants another 11 percent contribution from those inactive.
Yet, it still anticipates
a tiny little increment in income tax in the coming months, to a 35 percent
bracket. The heroes that this kind of nation worships cannot afford to deprive
themselves of a hint of self-esteem. An extra fifteen reais (around US$ 5)
to the monthly minimum wage? No way. That would break Social Security .
In no other country in
the world, and that includes the late USSR, has being a communist turned out
so lucrative.
In all honesty, this self-esteem
movement to rescue our native nomenclature was originally put in place by
former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
Curiously, as we speak
of cursed legacy, the Lula administration never includes in this concept the
dreadful burden that empties the pockets of defenseless inactive retirees,
in an effort to pamper the ruffians under Moscow’s, Beijing’s, and Havana’s
instructions.
The best of Brazil is
not exactly the Brazilian. The best of Brazil is to be a communist in Brazil.
Janer Cristaldohe holds a PhD from University of Paris, Sorbonneis
an author, translator, lawyer, philosopher and journalist and lives in São
Paulo. His e-mail address is cristal@baguete.com.br.
Translated
from the Portuguese by Eduardo Assumpção de Queiroz. He is
a freelance translator, with a degree in Business and almost 20 years of
experience working in the fields of economics, communications, social and
political sciences, and sports. He lives in Boca Raton, FL. His email: eaqus@adelphia.net.