“A tramp who beats a woman does not need to vote for Lula,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday (3/12). The speech delivered by the President of Planalto at an event in Ceara reinforces the defense made by Lula in recent days in the fight against violence against women.
According to the president, the voices of these men who commit violence against women are “useless.”
He said: “I want to look at the face of my comrades. I even have the courage to arrive at election time and say: The tramp who beats his wife does not need to vote for Lula for president of the republic, because this vote is not good.”
Lula’s speech came during an event in Fortaleza (CE) to hand over Brazilian national teaching cards and equipment from the MES program to professors in the state. The card is an official document launched by the federal government as a form of professional recognition and provides access to various benefits of the class.
As he has done in his public speeches in recent days, both at events and in interviews, Lula ended his speech to the ceremony participants by defending the movement against femicide and violence against women in Brazil.
In the capital, Ceara, Lula styled himself as a “soldier” in the struggle for women and said he would “lead a movement of men who serve in this country.”
He declared: “I will lead a movement of men who serve in this country so that we can defend Brazilian women (…) The fight against femicide, and the fight against violence against women, is not only your prerogative, but it must be our prerogative, we are the violent part of society. I will be a soldier in this battle in defense of the fight against femicide, and against violence against Brazilian women.”
More severe penalties
On Tuesday (2/12), Lula also addressed the topic at another event, in Pernambuco, when he mentioned First Lady Ganga Lula da Silva and got emotional on stage when he spoke about the recent cases of femicide that have had repercussions in the country. He advocated tougher penalties for perpetrators of this type of crime.
“What shame does a bastard like this deserve? Even death is kind (…). What we need is a lesson in character, in dignity, in education, in respect for our comrades, for women. Without them, we would not even exist,” Lola said.
According to the president, the First Lady of Brazil, Ganga Lula da Silva, asked him to combat violence against women “more strongly.” He also stated that Ganga had been crying when watching media reports on the subject recently, such as the report of a man caught red-handed in Pernambuco on suspicion of causing a fire that killed his partner and the couple’s four children.
“Today, on the plane, Ganga asked me: Lola, take responsibility for a tougher fight against men’s violence against women,” the president said, receiving warm applause from those attending the ceremony.