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🇧🇷 Brazil /Elections & Politics

Haddad Calls U.S. Terrorist Designation for PCC a Minor Issue

From Folha de S.Paulo · () Portuguese

Translated from Portuguese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Fernando Haddad, a Workers’ Party candidate for governor of São Paulo, said the U.S. designation of the PCC and Comando Vermelho as terrorist organizations was less important than combating them.
  • Haddad argued that terrorism is associated with ideology, while criminal factions primarily pursue money and launder it through the formal economy.
  • He also accused Governor Tarcísio de Freitas of taking a submissive approach to Donald Trump during a U.S. tariff dispute affecting Brazilian goods, particularly São Paulo.

Fernando Haddad dismissed the U.S. decision to classify Brazil’s PCC and Comando Vermelho criminal groups as terrorist organizations, saying the label matters less than the response to organized crime.

That is a minor issue, how you are going to call it, a mafia, terrorist organization or faction.

— Fernando HaddadHis response to the U.S. designation of the PCC and Comando Vermelho.

Speaking on TV Cultura’s Roda Viva, Haddad said the PCC’s connections extend beyond São Paulo and internationally. Asked about the designation, he said the question was “a minor issue” because the group could be called a mafia, terrorist organization or criminal faction. What mattered, he said, was how authorities carried out the fight against it.

The United States announced the designations in May. The change prompted companies to move quickly to avoid financial repercussions, according to Folha. Brazil’s Foreign Ministry has said the measure could create an opening for the United States to use military force in Brazil.

Terrorism is another category they invented in the United States, with support here from the far right, to create confusion in public opinion.

— Fernando HaddadHis criticism of the terminology used for criminal factions.

Haddad drew a distinction between terrorism and criminal factions, saying terrorism has more to do with ideology, while mafias and factions seek money and infiltrate the formal economy to launder it. He added that the issue was organized crime and that it needed to be fought.

The fact is this: it is organized crime, and it needs to be fought.

— Fernando HaddadHis emphasis on combating the groups regardless of their legal classification.

The São Paulo candidate also criticized Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, who is seeking re-election. Referring to U.S. tariffs on Brazilian products, Haddad accused Freitas of adopting a submissive posture toward Donald Trump. He questioned what São Paulo could offer to ease the dispute, mentioning Pix and rare-earth resources, and said the state had been affected more heavily than other parts of Brazil.

What are you going to give him, Pix? Rare earths?

— Fernando HaddadHis criticism of Tarcísio de Freitas’s approach to negotiations involving Donald Trump.
About this summary

Originally published by Folha de S.Paulo in Portuguese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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