The head of Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday responded to calls for a military takeover made during a truckers' strike by saying that democracy is "the only legitimate path" to overcome the country's problems.
Chief Justice Carmen Lucia said at the start of a court session in Brasilia that Brazil is going through "a serious political, economic and social moment."
She spoke after the nine-day strike paralyzed Latin America's biggest economy. The strike, called to force the center-right government to cut fuel costs, brought food and fuel deliveries to a standstill nationwide.
During the strike, there were frequent calls by protesters for the military to take over the country, which faces a turbulent mix of high unemployment, systemic political corruption and the after effects of a deep two-year recession.
But Lucia said people calling for a return to the days of Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship were not being realistic.
"We only have nostalgia for the good parts... in our country's history. Regimes without (civil) rights were a part of the past that we mustn't forget, even if we don't want to remember it," she said.
"Democracy is not in question."
The head of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday responded to calls for a military takeover made during a truckers’ strike by saying that democracy is “the only legitimate path” to overcome the country’s problems.
Chief Justice Carmen Lucia said at the start of a court session in Brasilia that Brazil is going through “a serious political, economic and social moment.”
She spoke after the nine-day strike paralyzed Latin America’s biggest economy. The strike, called to force the center-right government to cut fuel costs, brought food and fuel deliveries to a standstill nationwide.
During the strike, there were frequent calls by protesters for the military to take over the country, which faces a turbulent mix of high unemployment, systemic political corruption and the after effects of a deep two-year recession.
But Lucia said people calling for a return to the days of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship were not being realistic.
“We only have nostalgia for the good parts… in our country’s history. Regimes without (civil) rights were a part of the past that we mustn’t forget, even if we don’t want to remember it,” she said.
“Democracy is not in question.”
