Actress, former city councillor, and former president of Funarte during the Lula government,Maria Marighella,granddaughter ofCarlos Marighella,is running for federal deputy for PT-BA for the second time and, along with other artistic figures, signed a manifesto committing to advocate for public policies for the audiovisual sector if elected to the Chamber of Deputies. The movement is known as the "popcorn bench".
ToConversation Well LiveMaria Marighella assesses the current election as different from 2022, as Brazil witnessed the resurgence of cultural public policies during Lula 3, with the reconstitution of the Ministry of Culture, decentralization initiatives, and incentives such asAldir Blanc Law"Culture is no longer a peripheral concern but is at the heart of politics, and I am certain that Brazil can make this stand, and culture can regain its prominence in the national agenda," he argues.
More than just making up the culture group, Maria and figures like Luna Zarattini (PT-SP) - granddaughter of Ricardo Zarattini, the Old Zara - and Chico Rubens Paiva (PSB-RJ) - grandson of Rubens Paiva - would symbolically form the "memory bench" if elected federal deputies. Although a candidate for governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Juliana Brizola (PDT) can also be considered a "memory bench" politician, as she carries the democratic struggle of her grandfather, Leonel Brizola, in her wake.
On this, Maria states there is "a beautiful coincidence" as her grandfather was elected a federal deputy for Bahia in 1946, exactly 80 years ago. "In the communist bench that participated in the 1946 constituent assembly. And that bench is very emblematic for what we consider the genesis of our citizen Constitution. Many things that we currently have in our 1988 Constitution somehow originated in that debate, in that 1946 bench. A bench that was hunted down in 1948." She adds, "Now, 80 years later, Bahia might have a Marighella again in Congress, and I think that's already a very strong symbol in the context we live in, where our main adversary is the..."BolsonarismIt's a significant step, he assesses.
The candidate also notes that the conservatism expressed by Bolsonarism is not limited to current candidacies. "They are ghosts, echoes of a retrograde politics that we have defeated many times and that we have already shown how harmful this alliance of hatred, authoritarianism with ultra-neoliberal capitalism is. It creates an anti-people, anti-democratic environment that is extremely detrimental to Brazil's agenda," she states.
Maria Marighella also states that her grandfather's legacy becomes even more crucial in an election under the attempt of external interference by the United States. "The symbol of Marighella lends itself to an update of the debate and underpins the argument for national industry, sovereignty, the right to land, and ultimately, the entire set of things that we defend. For all these reasons, I believe Marighella's memory resonates strongly with the youth who are reacting to this, and I am certain that on October 4th, we have everything to define how Brazil, the Brazilian dream, should be, with the size of the country."
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