Gov't should do more in heeding people's voice

Brazilian authorities have started to respond to the call of the streets but need to do more, Senator Cristovam Buarque told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

The veteran lawmaker, who finished fourth in the 2006 presidential election, made the remarks when commenting on the recent wave of protests across the country sparked by hikes of public transport fares.

The situation, which has seen more than a million people take to the streets in mass protests and sometimes violent clashes, is evolving as authorities have started to respond to the voice of the street, noted the senator.

President Dilma Rousseff proposed Monday to hold a referendum to elect a Constituent Assembly to approve political reform and several other basic measures.

She met Friday with representatives of 24 students associations and social movements to listen to their demands and complaints, and pledged to create channels for dialogue with the youth.

In addition, the Federal Senate has approved a bill which turns corruption into a major crime and toughens punishment, and the Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill to designate 75 percent of oil royalties to public education and 25 percent for public health care.

However, Buarque said it is still too little.

"When millions of people go to the streets, they want more than bus fares falling and a couple of new laws being approved. They want a revolution in politics," he said.

"For me, (the revolution) involves four things: how to elect, how the elected must act, how to supervise politicians, and how to punish politicians who act wrongly," he added.

The senator proposed that the government should adopt a referendum model in which a proposal would be first elaborated and then submitted to a public vote.

"My proposal is that the Congress asks the help of an external group, consultants, and they elaborate a proposal, which would then be submitted to public consultation," he said.

But no matter how things are done, the Brazilian population will be watching, he said, adding that even if they stopped protesting soon, they would continue to talk their mind on the Internet and might go back to the streets at any moment.

"We live in the time of cyber guerillas. Any kid today can put 2,000 people in the streets for any reason, and they will stop traffic," said the senator.

Noting that in the new era the interaction pattern between authorities and the public has undergone drastic changes, he urged the politicians to do more in "listening to what the people want."

Cristovam Buarque

BrazilianSenator, veteran law maker