Speech by the President of the Republic, Michel Temer, during a Solemn Session to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Citizen Constitution - Brasília/DF

Brasília/DF, 06 November 2018

Look, I want, first and foremost, to say that I will be very brief. And to do so, I begin by saluting, very swiftly, the panel in the person of [Senate] President Eunício,

Chief Justice Toffoli,

President Sarney,

[Chamber of Deputies] President Rodrigo Maia,

Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge,

President-elect Jair Bolsonaro,

Vice-President Mourão,

Mauro Benevides,

Finally, I also salute all the authorities in the plenary. And in doing so, I want to say, through the deputies and senators, representatives of the people and representatives of the states, that we especially salute the Brazilian people, because you are representatives of the Brazilian people.

And in this brief speech, I want to reinforce the words of all those who have manifested themselves here. And in doing so, I want to say fundamentally, following the words of President Eunício, President Rodrigo Maia, President Jair Bolsonaro and Chief Justice Toffoli, that all their words were in honour of the Constitution, in the most absolute conviction that there is no way out of the Constitution.

And I confess that at this moment I am here, if I were to, President Jair Bolsonaro, to choose a word that was the motto, the guiding force, the path of my speech, I would say that the word is remembrance. Because, in fact, as a member of the Constituent [Assembly] that I was - it was my first term - together with so many other members of the Constituent that I see here, that memory rejuvenates us.

And it rejuvenates us precisely because I remember the great agitation, Antonio de Jesus, that we had here in the Constituent. All manner of people joining the National Congress, the whole people, all sectors of nationality, Maria Abadia, bringing their demands inside the National Congress. And requests that were filtered and taken in.

Therefore, when [Constituent Assembly] President Ulysses Guimarães said very appropriately that this is the Citizen Constitution, he meant that it was a Citizen Constitution in voice and content. Because the content it had was precisely the voice of the Brazilian people.

Therefore, when I see here that we are all celebrating, and hence the opportunity of this meeting promoted by the National Congress, by Eunício, by Rodrigo Maia... We are here recalling the Constitution of [19]88, but not remembering it to forget it. On the contrary, we are remembering it to preserve it, and to make it so that 70 years from now we can all be here celebrating the centennial of the Constitution of [19]88.

So my friends, I want to say that the Constitution has brought undeniable advances. Even because, it is interesting... I note a curious fact: you know that the expression Democratic State is synonymous with the rule of law. And we were so emphatic in the history of democracy in the country that we soon topped the constitutional text with the expression "Democratic State of Law", to make clear the participation of all the Brazilian people in it.

And when we spoke, as Justice Toffoli mentioned, of harmony and independence between the powers, we did so in the most absolute conviction that we are constituted authorities. We are not the holders of power. The holder of power is the people, who, on 7 October went to the polls and elected Jair Bolsonaro, elected deputies and senators. This is really the ownership of the people.

But we must, as the powers that exercise the mandate, to do what our Justice Toffoli is saying. To bring together the powers of the State. Because unity... While in the past power was concentrated in the absolutist State, in the democratic State it is divided between three branches: the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.

And I know that Chief Justice Toffoli has already spoken with President Jair Bolsonaro, has already spoken to us, has already spoken with the members of the National Congress so that there will be a meeting of the heads of the branches permanently, on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, so that they can direct the country in the way towards which the Constituent of [19]88 pointed us. I have no doubt that the Constituent indicated the best way. And in so doing, it really had its eyes set on the anxieties and expectations of the Brazilian people.

Therefore, President Eunício, I want to congratulate you for this opportunity. After all, you have brought together here all the authorities of the past, like President Sarney, of the past only chronologically, but of the present because, at every moment, President Sarney, as Chief Justice Toffoli said, is teaching us all in his example of moderation, balance, serenity, tranquillity, all of which we must have at the present moment.

So, I must congratulate my colleagues, my fellow parliamentarians who have been with me, both those of [19]88 and the following legislatures, because I have been here for 24 years.

I want to finish by saying once again that my message is a message of remembrance. I don't want to be like that history teacher that was so old, so old, that she didn't need to study history, she just remembered it. But I am recalling [19]88 here and saluting those members of the Constituent of [19]88 who produced a new Brazil.

My compliments to you all.