Democracy is not a gift but a collective construction, writes Patrícia Villela Marino after the runoff of Brazil’s elections

Our democracy is imperfect, unfinished, and often frustrating. Despite everything, it is a civilizational achievement that cannot be torn from our hands and handed over to militiamen and coup plotters.

The mobilization of recent days in Brazil, which drove the historic comeback in the presidential runoff, reminds me of the “Diretas Já!” campaign. Today, as in the 1980s, the street demonstrations gave rise to the awareness that democracy is not a gift but a collective construction, one for which each generation must take responsibility.

It was moving to witness the strength of active citizenship. In marches, on social media, in conversations, and in face-to-face campaigning, Brazilian women and men of different backgrounds, generations, and political convictions mobilized and contributed to Lula’s victory over Bolsonaro.

All of this brings to mind the legacies of Tancredo Neves, Ulysses Guimarães, Franco Montoro, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and so many others who helped rebuild our democratic institutions after the military dictatorship. My participation since 2023 in the Presidency’s Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development (the “Conselhão”), even while maintaining important differences with the Lula government, was born of this same conviction: it is possible to build bridges between people who think differently and to work together in defense of democratic institutions.

We do not need to agree on everything to recognize what unites us. Democracy demands dialogue, courage, generosity, and, above all, responsibility for our collective destiny.

However, we must remember that there can be no full democracy in a country where millions of people are still denied their most basic rights, their dignity, and their sense of belonging.

Citizenship does not end at the ballot box. It is a commitment renewed every day. May we never lack the courage to defend democracy, the humility to live with our differences, and the love for Brazil to build what we still lack.

With a warm and hopeful embrace,

Patrícia Villela Marino
President of Humanitas360 Institute

(Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil)