Heitor Loureiro
On May 29, 2015 many Armenian news outlets reported with enthusiasm that
Brazil had joined the list of nations that recognize the Armenian
Genocide. Although the basis for the announcement in the Armenian press
was information provided by Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs —which
in turn was based on information disseminated by Armenia’s Embassy in Brazil—no
Brazilian press agency had confirmed the recognition; neither had
Brazil’s Embassy in Yerevan. A few hours later, the Brazilian Senator
from São Paulo, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, from the Brazilian Social
Democracy Party (PSDB) posted on his Facebook page that the “vote of
solidarity” (request no. 550/2015),
which was co-sponsored by himself and José Serra (also from São Paulo’s
PSDB), had been adopted by the Federal Senate. Yet, the request was
only submitted to and approved by the Committee of Foreign Relations and
National Defense of the Senate, chaired by Aloysio Nunes himself.
While both the Republic of Armenia and the diaspora were trying to
understand what this approval meant, the Senate put the matter to a vote
during its Plenary Meeting of June 2, presented by Nunes and Serra and
signed by 52 other Senators (out of a total of 81). During this critical
meeting, all of the political parties represented in the Senate
recommended voting in favor of the resolution. The ensuing unanimous
approval by the Senate reflected the strength of the Armenian community
in Brazil, with its many institutions that are able to articulate
political goals and engage in effective advocacy ahead of the vote.
It is clear that the atmosphere created by the Centennial of the
Armenian Genocide in April helped this process. Never before had
Brazilian society been exposed to this much information about Armenia
and the genocide. The Centennial was visible in the mainstream media,
driven by news of various governments that were supporting recognition
and, most significantly, Pope Francis’ speech urging recognition. It is
important to note here that Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic
community in the world.
However, we cannot claim that the Centennial was the only
driving force behind this victory by the Armenian community in Brazil.
We have to take into account the work that the community has been doing
since the re-democratization of the country in 1985, especially in São
Paulo. In the first half of the 1980’s, still under the military
regime’s rule, the Armenians of São Paulo began a campaign to change a
subway station’s name to “Armenia Station.” This initiative started a
political discussion that continues today, particularly with
then-governor of São Paulo Franco Montoro, from the Brazilian Democratic
Movement (currently PMDB), and some of his allies, such as Fernando
Gasparian. These men would found the PSDB, the main political ally of
the Armenians in Brazil. The PMDB/Social Democrats ruled the country
between 1994 and 2002 under Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC), Gasparian’s
close friend. In the FHC government, the banker Varujan Burmaian was
appointed as the ambassador of Brazil to Armenia.
In May 1989, the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo passed law no. 6,468,
creating the “Day of solidarity with the Armenian People,” which was
sponsored by deputy Abdo Haddad. This law represents the recognition by
the state of São Paulo of the Armenian massacres. But it was only on
April 23 of this year that the same Assembly passed a new law (no.
15,813) that defines the events of 1915 as genocide and uses
the term, which was absent in the 1989 law. The law designates April 24
as the “day of recognition and remembrance to the victims of the
Genocide of the Armenian People.” This law was sponsored by deputy Pedro
Tobias, from PSDB.
Interestingly, despite having the sympathy of FHC and his party,
PSDB, the Armenian Cause hit a dormant period in Brazil in the 1990’s.
The years of neoliberalism and the country’s deep economic crisis
affected the Armenian community in São Paulo, where institutions were
(and still are) supported by businessmen. Since 2003, during the Lula da
Silva government, the Workers Party (PT) of Brazil underwent a period
of large economic growth, which led to the establishment of a large and
emerging middle class. The spread of technology and internet in the
country provided an opportunity for those with Armenian ancestry to
connect with their roots through the use of social media networks; this
generated the revival of some Armenian institutions in Brazil, which had
been facing collapse since the early 1990’s. This new wave of
mobilization, combined with a political-economic tailwind, led Armenians
to resume their activism in the country’s political arena. In 2007, the
Brazilian chapter of the Armenian National Committee of South America
(also known as CNA) received the support of the Federal Deputy Arnaldo
Faria de Sá (Brazilian Labor Party, PTB, from São Paulo) to present draft bill no. 899/07,
which would create the “day of tolerance and respect among peoples, in
recognition to the Genocide perpetrated against the Armenians.” The
following year, however, strong opposition from Federal Deputy Arnon
Bezerra (PTB from Ceará) led Faria de Sá, in accordance with the CNA, to
withdraw the draft bill, fearing a political defeat.
However, in 2011, the nationally acclaimed actor and Federal Deputy
Stepan Nercessian (Popular Socialist Party, PPS, from Rio de Janeiro)
publicly urged the Brazilian government to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. A year later, Federal Deputy Walter Feldman (PSDB from São
Paulo) presented draft bill no. 3,190/2012
that would penalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide in Brazil,
following the introduction of a similar draft bill that was being
debated in France. For various reasons, none of these drafts passed.
While these draft resolutions were being discussed in Congress, the
Brazilian government and the Ministry of External Relations were
nurturing close ties with Turkey. In 2010, President da Silva met with
then-Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mediate the Iranian
nuclear program. Turkey had become a strategic partner of Brazil during
the PT government, which worked to create alliances with countries from
the so-called “Global South.” When confronted about the Armenian
Genocide issue, the official response from the government was that
relations between Armenians and Turks were not a Brazilian issue.
Beginning in 2010, the Armenian community received new impetus when
the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Brazil was created and
then-Consul General Ashot Yeghiazaryan was promoted to ambassador.
Meanwhile, the General Consulate in São Paulo was headed by Hilda Diruhi
Burmaian, the widow of Varujan Burmaian, the former ambassador of
Brazil to Armenia. The nomination of Hilda Burmaian, who is well known
and respected in the Armenian community, brought the community closer to
the Republic of Armenia, and led both sides to work together in seeking
common objectives. In addition, the reorganization of the local
chapters of the Armenian National Committee and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF), and the infusion of their boards with
young members, brought about a new approach towards the Armenian Cause,
especially in the use of social media. It is important to underscore
here the creation of the website Estação Armênia,
one of the most important media services of Armenians in Latin America,
among other efforts by other institutions, such as the Armenian General
Benevolent Union (AGBU).
On April 24, 2009, then-Governor of São Paulo José Serra published an article in the main Brazilian newspaper entitled, “No genocide may be forgotten,”
which was well received by the Armenian community. Serra would become
the opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential elections, losing the
run to Dilma Rousseff, from the PT. The little enthusiasm shown by the
ruling party toward issues important to Armenians led the community to
instead give its support to Serra and the PSDB, the main opposition
party. PSDB, keeping an eye on the votes from the Armenian community in
Brazil (which party leaders estimated to be around 100,000, though the
real numbers are closer to 40,000), accepted the mission of taking the
Armenian Cause to the National Congress.
The turning point for the Armenian Cause in Brazil came in 2014.
First, because the imminence of the Centennial led the community to work
towards a common agenda for the first time in decades. The “Brazilian
Committee for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide” unified all
institutions in different working groups to propose activities that
would raise awareness of the Armenian Cause in Brazilian society. The
various institutions nevertheless held parallel activities, such as a
demonstration organized by the ANC and ARF in front of the Turkish
Consulate in São Paulo, where hundreds gathered. Similarly, during the
presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014, representatives of the
Armenian community sought candidates and asked for support towards
recognition. Serra, then Senate candidate, was one of the politicians
who met with these representatives. Once elected, in 2015, Serra had the
support of his fellow Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, who proposed the
resolution that was approved by the Senate in June 2015.
It remains to be seen what this approval means. It is necessary to
highlight, as we are reminded by Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira, a
lecturer of constitutional law at Mackenzie University, that Brazil is a
presidential federal republic with a bicameral congress, in which the
Chamber of Deputies stands for the Brazilian people and the Federal
Senate represents the states of the federation. Technically, this
unanimous approval during the Senate’s plenary meeting constitutes
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by all Brazilian states, but not
recognition by the Brazilian people (represented by the Chamber) nor the
Brazilian state. In accordance with the Brazilian constitutional
political system, to say that Brazil effectively recognizes the Armenian
Genocide, we would need a legislative decree edited and approved by the
Chamber of Deputies, which would be ratified by a presidential decree,
since the president of the republic is both the head of government and
the head of state before the international community. Another
possibility, according to Article 84, item VIII, of the Constitution of
the Federative Republic of Brazil of 1988, would be the recognition of
the genocide by the executive power, followed by ratification by the
National Congress. It is worth noting that request no. 550,
approved by the Senate, does not have the force of national law, unlike
what happened in Argentina and Uruguay, which have similar political
systems and recognize the Armenian Genocide.
The approval of this vote of solidarity doubtless reflects the hard
work by the Armenian community in Brazil over the last 30 years, and
especially over the last 12 months. However, it is still too early to
celebrate and consider the mission accomplished. It is essential to
resume attempts to get the Armenian Genocide recognized by the executive
power in order to impact Brazilian foreign policy regarding the
Armenian Cause. The victory in the Senate has implications,
predominately in domestic affairs, as it showed the ability of the
Armenian community in Brazil to lead the political class to support
their interests. While this discussion is only among the politicians who
are “friends of the Armenian Cause,” Brazil remains vulnerable to the
Turkish-Azeri lobby, whose influence has increased over the past few
years.
One day after the voting, the Brazilian ambassador in Ankara was
recalled for clarifications. Five days later, Ankara recalled its
ambassador in Brazil for consultations. The Brazilian Ministry of
External Relations states the Senate passed the resolution in observance
of the constitutional prerogative on the principle of the separation of
powers. The Brazilian government also states that relations with Turkey
are defined by both parties as “strategic” and that it hopes for the
normalization of bilateral relations as soon as possible. In the year
that marks the Centennial, it seems the Armenian Genocide is on the
Brazilian political agenda to stay.
"The Armenian Weekly," June 12, 2015
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