The candidate for president of the Republic by the UP, Leo Pericles, has been calling supporters for a march in protest for his non-participation in the televised debates between the contestants in the election. He and Vera, from the PSTU, are the only black people in the race for the highest office in the country and classify the holding of debates with only white people as racist and undemocratic.
“Another debate will take place. Once again the black candidates will not be present. We cannot remain silent in the face of this injustice”, criticized the candidate, who walked today (23) through the streets of Mauá, a municipality in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The march, also called by social networks, will take place tomorrow (24). Supporters will gather at 2 pm on the steps of the Municipal Theater of São Paulo.
Tomorrow, at 6:15 pm, there will be a debate organized by a group of media outlets, including broadcasters SBT and CNN. Candidates Lula (PT), Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Ciro Gomes (PDT), Simone Tebet (MDB), Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil), Felipe D’Avila (Novo) and Father Kelmon (PTB) were invited. The seven belong to parties that have at least five federal deputies and must be called according to the current rules established by Federal Law 13.488/2021, known as mini-electoral reform. The invitation to others is optional.
Leo Pericles has repeatedly endorsed the criticism on social media. “No more racism! We are the majority of Brazilian society. We are the blackest country outside the African continent. Even so, there is not a black candidate in the debates between the presidential candidates”, he wrote this afternoon.
Two days ago, he addressed the subject, evoking the memory of Minervino Oliveira, who contested the 1930 presidential elections for the Bloco Operário e Camponês (BOC). “It’s been 92 years since there was a last black man, worker, resident of the periphery, candidate for the presidency of the Republic”, he said.
