Address by the President of the Republic, Michel Temer, during the inauguration ceremony of Mr. Gabriel Faria de Oliveira as Federal Public Defender General for the 2018/2020 biennium - Brasília/DF

Brasília/DF, 7 November 2018

So I want, Gabriel, to adopt a tone of informality in this solemnity. I see that the plenary is crowded, and so are the galleries. So I see that physically there is extraordinary informality.

On top of that, your very opportune words - because they were guided by the notion of direito posto [positive rights], weren't they? They were also spoken, as were Mr. Jair's words, with great informality.

So, my speech will not be solemn. Actually, it will consist, in fact, pf some comments, Ms. Raquel, Mr. Gustavo, Mr. Luiz Coelho, which I will make, Carmen Zanotto, Dário Berger... That I will make, in fact, dear parliamentarians-elect present... There are parliamentarians-elect here at the present moment, which I too wish to greet. And to greet all colleagues.

And by using the words of my colleague, I'm talking about my profession. Because everyone knows, Ms. Raquel, that I was a state prosecutor, a prosecutor for the State of São Paulo. At a time, dear Justices here present, at a time when there was no public defender yet.

But when I was a state prosecutor, and then twice prosecutor general of the state of São Paulo, where I was only for a short time, nine months on each occasion... I was called at two opportunities for the Secretariat of Public Security. But I remember that the most expressive activity of the Prosecutor General's Office, the one that gave the Prosecutor General the greatest stature, was precisely legal aid, wasn't it? And even physically, interestingly, the building, the largest building of the State General Prosecutor's Office, where there were about 1,200 prosecutors, was the legal aid building.

Through those buildings went those who were "legally indigent", as the constitutional expression states, and they left the building pleased with the extraordinary work that the then legal aid prosecutors did.

Well, fate willed it that, at a given moment, I was to join the Constituent Assembly. And upon joining the Constituent Assembly, we worked hard, we worked hard for there to be a separation. So that the Defensoria, the Public Defender's Office, would be created. And that led to the best results. Incidentally, the account Mr. Gabriel offered here reveals the importance of the Public Defender's Office, doesn't it?

And interestingly, the Public Defender's Office has two meanings, in my view. The first is that of being, shall we say, the defender of positive rights. Gabriel's own speech reveals this fact. The most absolute conviction that there is only social peace, there is only order, if there is compliance with the rule of law. Because non-compliance with the legal norm leads to instability, just as permanent litigation also brings social unrest. The greater the judicial litigation, the greater the social unrest.

And what the public defender does is precisely to seek a certain harmony. Seek the end of litigiousness and basically ensure the protection of those who economically cannot hire a lawyer.

And from a second angle, apart from the circumstance I just mentioned, there is only social tranquillity when there is compliance with the contract. With the contract that the people, a given people, celebrates to constitute a certain society, that political science has agreed to call the State. So, it is through strict compliance with the legal order, I say again, that social tranquillity is brought about.

But especially the Public Defender's Office, it has a duty that is social in nature. Because it will seek to accommodate exactly those who do not have access, cannot have direct access to the judiciary. So you, ladies and gentlemen, do this work grounded on the constitutional text, which is very important. Hence, let us say, the reason, among so many others, why I came here today to witness the inauguration of the new Public Defender General of the Union.

This reveals, therefore, the importance of this activity in the Brazilian State. I know there are about 160, 170 ... Sorry? How many? 620 [federal] public defenders, but among the state defenders there are a lot more. There is a significant number of them in the state Public Defender's Offices. To demonstrate the extraordinary capacity that the State has had, not only the Federal Government, but the member states of the federation, with their focus on social aspects.

Let's face it, we are still a country with many social needs. With much social vulnerability. And so we must turn our eyes to them. Not only, I say, in the assistance plane or in the plane that seeks the social inclusion of those who are most vulnerable. I give here the example of Bolsa Família, which is a programme that aims to make sure people can have access to food.

But now, we, in the government, in the most absolute conviction that we need to include them socially, that we must make them progress, we have created a programme called Progredir [To Progress], which today aims exactly and precisely to help entrepreneurs hire the children of beneficiaries, so they can be included in society. At this point, more than 230 thousand young people have been hired. A programme that we launched about 7, 8 months ago, right, Gustavo? So, we have this social concern.

But the other aspect of our social concern is precisely that which is fulfilled by the Public Defender's Office. So, Gabriel, that is why I came here to attend his inauguration, to honour you, to honour positive rights, like you said in your speech. But especially to honour those lawyers, my colleagues, who are dedicated to this social cause.

And I confess here, on a personal anecdote, that the first time I took office as Prosecutor General of the State, Dário Berger, Carmen Zanotto, my whole family was there. That was a long time ago, a long time. I was younger, of course, but I remember the excitement when I took office as state Prosecutor General. I said, "My God, look where I got," isn't it? Look where I got. Head of the Prosecutor General's Office, Ms. Raquel, something of... an extraordinary thrill. And I realised, more than a thrill, an emotion, right? I saw that in Gabriel.

So, seeing your family here, whom I also salute, your daughter, wife, daughter, and all of you, I recalled my past today. So, as I said a little yesterday, I think your guideline, if I wanted to give you a guideline, a word that would synthesise my speech, I would say remembrance. You made me remember. And for that, I thank you.

Many congratulations to you.