Livres (movement)

Livres (Portuguese: Free) is a Brazilian social-liberal and liberal economic political movement which joined the Social Liberal Party (PSL) in 2016 to reinforce the political party's social liberal values.

Free

Livres
Founded2016 (2016)
Split fromSocial Liberal Party
HeadquartersSão Paulo
Membership3000
IdeologySocial liberalism
Economic liberalism
Classical liberalism
Political positionCentre
Colours     Purple
Seats in the Chamber of Deputies (2018)
7 / 513
Seats in the Senate (2018)
1 / 81
State deputies (2018)
8 / 1,035
City councillors (2016)
9 / 57,720
Mayors
0 / 5,570
Website
eusoulivres.org

Livres went on to grow as a liberal wing of the PSL and control the party's political agenda, communication and 13 out of its 27 state directories. Inspired by Livres' liberal approach, notable Brazilian public intellectuals such as political scientist Fábio Ostermann and journalist Leandro Narloch openly supported the PSL.

Livres split from the PSL in January 2018 after right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro joined the party. The PSL subsequently dropped social liberalism altogether from its platform, adopting social and national conservatism. Today, Livres is not a party, but a political movement. Although many politicians are still members of the organisation, Livres does not run its own candidates and instead acts as a pressure group supporting socially and economic liberal candidates and policies.

Livres currently has 25 members holding public office positions: one senator (Rodrigo Cunha - PSDB/AL), seven federal deputies, eight state deputies and nine city councillors, along with economists, political scientists and more than three thousand registered activists.

History

Livres was founded by Sérgio Bivar and his supporters in late 2015 as an internal libertarian tendency within the PSL.[1] The initial goal of Livres was to reform the PSL following the 2018 general elections and modernize the PSL's platform. After Bolsonaro joined the PSL, Livres split with the PSL, claiming Bolsonaro's ultranationalism policies were incompatible with the organization.[2]

After leaving the PSL, Livres announced it would become a non-partisan political movement,[3] with members and supporters free to join any political party in Brazil, provided they followed the 17 principles of the movement. Of the 43 members who were seeking election in 2018, thirteen went to the New Party, eight went to the Popular Socialist Party, seven to Podemos, seven to the Party of National Mobilization, three to the Sustainability Network, two to the Democrats, two to the Green Party and one to Solidariedade.[4]

In the 2018 elections, Livres elected one Senator (Rodrigo Cunha, PSDB, Alagoas), two members of Congress (Tiago Mitraud, Novo, Minas Gerais and Marcelo Calero, PPS, Rio de Janeiro) and five members of Legislative Assemblies (Fábio Ostermann, Novo, Rio Grande do Sul; Bruno Souza, PSB, Santa Catarina; Davi Maia, DEM, Alagoas; Guilherme da Cunha, Novo, Minas Gerais; and Daniel José, Novo, São Paulo). In total, Livres-backed candidates received more than 2.5 million votes.[5] After the elections, two more elected politicians joined: one federal deputy (Franco Cartafina of Minas Gerais) and one state deputy (Chicão Bulhōes of Rio de Janeiro).

With the election of Bolsonaro as President of Brazil, the party adopted a position of independence and defense of freedom as a whole and for all people.

References
  1. "Quem Somos" (in Portuguese). Livres. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  2. Fucs, José (5 January 2018). "Com chegada de Bolsonaro, Livres anuncia saída do PSL". O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  3. Brandino, Géssica (22 January 2018). "Depois de sair do PSL, Livres cria associação ainda sem partido". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. Medeiros, Lydia (17 April 2018). "Identidade liberal". O Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  5. "Livres". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
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