Beware the Peaceful Ones! – Folha de S. Paulo, December 14, 1982

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

The latest elections produced the following results: the left prevailed in three of Brazil’s most important states—São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais—and made significant gains in several others. This is the opposite of what I had hoped for regarding the good of Christian civilization and of Brazil. I have no sympathy for the ostrich’s habit of burying its head in the sand when danger approaches. The clear, undeniable, and most striking fact is the left’s evident advance.

For this reason, I will set aside certain important aspects of the recent elections: the discrepancy I perceive between the results and the aspirations of the majority of authentic Brazil; the dominant influence exerted by leftist currents in the press (the Fourth Branch) and in the sacristies (the Fifth Branch) in shaping the electoral outcome; and, finally, the peculiar inversion by which left‑leaning tendencies prevailed in wealthy neighborhoods while conservative tendencies predominated in poorer ones.

The advance of the left raises two fundamental questions that I wish to confront directly. First: Where will this progress lead Brazil? And second: in light of that prospect, what is my duty—and the duty of many others who share my convictions?

It would take too long to explain both questions, so I will focus on one main point that I believe everything revolves around. It is much more emotional than ideological, reflecting the nature of our people.

Many Brazilians believe that the anticommunist repression from long ago has already “cleared the field” among us of the few remaining subversives. As a result, any current anticommunist repression is seen as unnecessary and inappropriate.

Now, this same majority has taken pleasure in being persuaded by these illusions. Brazilians are peaceful and enjoy watching arguments and fights only when they are not “for real.” Then, they are captivated. It is time for “cheering,” gossiping, etc.

For most people, “leftism” meant democracy, an opportunity to hear or give inspiring speeches, or to participate in “gossip,” “rumors,” and political maneuvers.

Faced with the choice between frowns, repression, and struggle on one side, and literature, gossip, and politicking on the other, many Brazilians preferred the relaxing distractions of free political entertainment, and that is how Brazil is being led.

* * *

This teaches us that the left’s success can only be sustained if it understands this. Similarly, the center and the right will only continue to have a significant role in Brazilian life if they know how to adapt to this.

Let me be more specific. If the left quickly enforces the “popular” and egalitarian demands that brought it to power, gets irritable and sour when criticized by the opposition, and persecutes opponents through petty legislative tricks, administrative nitpicking, or police-like suppression, Brazilians will become disappointed in their desire for an easy-going, relaxed, and carefree regime. At first, they will distance themselves from the left. Then, they will grow resentful, and eventually, furious. The left will have lost the popularity contest.

In other words, if leftists—currently so influential in the government (the three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary), the media (the fourth branch), and within the Church (the fifth branch)—fail to understand the Brazilian people’s current desire for relaxation, they will lose their appeal and become isolated. The crowds they address will initially remain silent, then turn angry.

* * *

History offers many examples of regimes that failed to last because they didn’t grasp these principles. Louis XVIII, the secretly left-leaning, Voltairean, and clever monarch, understood them, for example. As a result, he died peacefully on the throne of France in 1824. He was succeeded by Charles X, his chivalrous brother, who was as bright and gentle as a ray of sunshine and as charming in manners as a honeycomb. He was a steadfast right-winger but lacked political finesse (as is often the case with right-wingers…).

He moved swiftly and passionately against the left, provoking outrage from the targeted group. As the cherished peace gradually faded, most people abandoned Charles X, who then fell into a power vacuum. He was replaced by Louis Philippe, the bourgeois, “umbrella king,” a skilled “virtuoso” at easing tensions, who remained on the throne until France, finally tired of peace, overthrew him in 1848.

* * *

Today’s Brazil values peace and calm above all else. If the victorious left cannot deliver it, it will disappear. If the center and right cannot carry out their struggles in a peaceful and calm environment, their time to fade will also come.

I can easily see that some irritated reader might ask me: but, after all, who benefits from this calmness? I haven’t mentioned this before. I have shown that those who don’t know how to achieve it will miss out.

Who will win: the right? the center? the left? Those who understand the true core of the Brazilian soul can engage in peaceful dialogue with it. It doesn’t matter if they are the government or the opposition. Those who master this will influence.

I insist. If the government, media, and the Church’s structure cannot maintain this calm environment and resort to physical, legal, or media violence against the opposition, peaceful citizens will ask: After all, what is your sincerity and dignity? When in opposition, you demanded freedom and respect, but now that you are in power, you persecute and defame those who are now in opposition!

If the peaceful ones see hostility in the center and on the right, they will tell them: it has been well proven that it is impossible to live with you, because even when defeated, you do not know how to be conciliatory.

Gentlemen of the left, center, and right: beware of the peaceful when they become indignant. This is not the time for scowls, but for open, courteous, logical, and intelligent discussion. The peaceful tolerate everything—except the disturbance of their peace. And once that is shattered, they can become fierce with surprising ease…