Caetano Veloso is speaking out about the political turmoil in his beloved Brazil…
The 76-year-old Brazilian musician and political activist has published an op-ed in the New York Times about the possible breakdown of democracy his home country is facing.
A two-time Grammy winner, Veloso gaimed acclaim through participating in the Tropicalismo artistic movement at the beginning of the military dictatorship that Brazil (the fourth-largest democracy in the world) operated under in the 1960s.
In the editorial, titled “Dark Times Are Coming for My Country,” Caetano writes about the populist right-wing conservatism influencing Brazilian politics, and claims that Brazilians “can expect a wave of fear and hatred” if projected election winner Jair Bolsonaro becomes president. The election is scheduled for Sunday, October 28.
“Like other countries around the world, Brazil is facing a threat from the far right, a storm of populist conservatism,” Caetano says. “Our new political phenomenon, Jair Bolsonaro…is a former army captain who admires Donald Trump but seems more like Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines’ strongman. Mr. Bolsonaro champions the unrestricted sale of firearms, proposes a presumption of self-defense if a policeman kills a “suspect” and declares that a dead son is preferable to a gay one.”
Caetano goes on to provide background information about the decline of Brazilian political life in recent years, the impact of the news media on Bolsonaro’s success, and his history of artistic activism. Caetano spent time in prison for his political beliefs, along with other artists, students, and intellectuals.
Caetano ends the piece by expressing that he was forced into exile before, but won’t see that happen a second time, saying “I want my music, my presence, to be a permanent resistance to whatever anti-democratic feature may come out of a probable Bolsonaro government.”