Dear Editor,
With reference to the missive published in the Stabroek News on January 21, with the title ‘Bolsonaro persona non grata in Guyana’ I wonder if any of the signatories realise that a democratically elected President of a country on an official visit to another country is the representative of the country and people and does not visit as a private citizen.
Brazil is South America’s superpower and dwarfs other countries in terms of land mass and population. It is our only neighbour that hasn’t staked a claim on our territory.
The role of a President is monumentally greater than the individual elected to take on that role at any given point in time. If Jair Bolsonaro, democratically elected President of the Federative Republic of Brazil and commander-in-chief of its armed forces visits Guyana officially, he is the representative of a population of approximately 212,559,409 people (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=BR) and the country as a whole; he does not visit as Jair Bolsonaro, a private individual.
On the world stage, Brazil is seen as a relatively stable country unlike our neighbour, Venezuela; and to date international organisations and governments of other countries have not imposed sanctions and other such measures on it or the government of Brazil for whatever crimes some Guyanese feel have been committed. Brazil has a judicial system and the internal affairs of the country including perceived ‘racist policies and remarks’ by Brazilian politician (s) fall under the purview of the Brazilian people and relevant national and international organisations.
Editor, what find I comedic about the piece ‘Bolsonaro persona non grata in Guyana’ is how absurdly hypocritical it is given the proclivity of some Guyanese politicians and other public figures to use racism as a weapon to keep their grip on power, incite their supporters to cause chaos and mayhem in Guyana relegating her to seem internationally as an uncivilised, corrupt backwater without vision and where division among the people is always at the forefront.
The Guyanese ‘racists’ are allowed to continue with their deplorable behaviour because classism and corruption are endemic and some are above the law and far worthier than the ordinary folk. Some even tried to reign over Guyana illegally because of what they see is ‘them versus us’.
Editor, do the signatories know that Guyana maintains good relations with Cuba, Russia and China? What about the human rights violations and crimes committed against the people of those countries by their very own governments including the situation with the Uighurs? Should all ventures between them and Guyana cease and a disbandment of the ‘good relations’ commence? The world is in crisis and has been for centuries; civil wars, dictatorships, oppression and censorship and so many maladies on mankind’s existence. No country is a saint and no country is a hermit.
I wonder if the absurdity of the statement ‘…we declare President Jair Bolsonaro persona non grata and take this opportunity to convey to President Ali and his administration that we will never cooperate or support the strengthening of relations between Brazil and Guyana, as long as the racist and neo-fascist regime of Jair Bolsonaro holds office.’ is now realised. Just think about it, would some Guyanese who do not support/like Biden, Trump, Modi, Johnson or any other leader say ‘we will never cooperate or support the strengthening of relations between Guyana and ….’ and expect to be taken seriously?
In Guyana, there are many Brazilians and persons with Brazilian heritage living, working and contributing to Guyanese society. There is even an official embassy and many Brazilians have businesses and employ Guyanese. If Bolsonaro had visited, whatever areas of cooperation would have been discussed and proposed would not have been seen as ‘cooperation’ between Guyana and the citizen Bolsonaro but between the countries, Guyana and Brazil and their people.
The ‘President’ remains but the ‘person’ changes. If a country is stable and the government of that country has been recognised nationally and internationally as having been democratically elected by the people then the President represents the country and the people. The signatories of the missive ‘Bolsonaro persona non grata’ should respect the right of Brazilians to choose their own leaders and respect the fact that their President represents them when on official visits to other countries. Some in Guyana detest the Ali administration and question its legitimacy and policies, however when President Ali goes on official visits abroad, he is the flag bearer of the Guyanese people so how is Bolsonaro’s case different?
Yours faithfully,
Narissa Deokarran
