By Osmel Almaguer

HAVANA TIMES – Brazilians go to the polls this Sunday October 4th. It marks the first round of the presidential and general elections, in which, in addition to the future president and vice president, voters will elect state governors, senators, and representatives.

After 49 days of rallies and propaganda that flooded the media and social networks, banners lining the streets, and loudspeakers broadcasting slogans throughout neighborhoods, the campaign period finally came to an end on October 1st.

Although I do not have the right to vote because of my status as an applicant for political refugee status, it is a new experience for me to see different candidates present their platforms, defend their positions, and even criticize the opposing side.

Having witnessed and, on some occasions, participated in electoral processes in Cuba, where the people have not voted for a president in more than 60 years, I watch these elections with curiosity.

Although my first experiences with political pluralism came during my travels to Latin American countries such as Panama and Peru, when I was an independent journalist, living in a country where you know the outcome of an election can have a direct impact on your life adds another dimension.

There are no points in the Workers’ Party (Lula) platform that directly affect immigrants, particularly Cubans living here, nor are there any in the Liberal Party (Bolsonaro) platform.

However, the current president’s agenda would maintain the National Policy on Migration, Refuge, and Statelessness, which seeks to coordinate and unify the actions of the federal government, states, and municipalities to guarantee human rights and the integration of the foreign population, making the reception of migrants a unified national public policy.

For a nation like Cuba, whose people are fleeing en masse to the South American giant, a policy like this would provide important guarantees.

On the other hand, the general stance of the Brazilian right tends toward tighter controls along land borders—the main entry routes from Guyana or through the Amazon—and stricter oversight of government social assistance, which could adversely affect us.

As for those of us who are already here, the right to seek refuge in Brazil is protected by international treaties and national legislation (Law 9,474/97). None of the platforms with a realistic chance of winning proposes abolishing the refugee system.

Many Brazilians complain daily about the current president’s administration. Most are people who believe the left harms their lives and their private businesses. In addition, there is an increasingly widespread fear that the leftist president could end up turning the country into another Venezuela.

If we try to be a little more objective, Lula managed to keep the national currency somewhat more stable than his rival during his previous terms in office—at least in relation to the dollar. However, in the nearly four years I have lived in this country, I have witnessed how much people’s purchasing power has deteriorated because of inflation.

Expenses on housing and food have been hit particularly hard, and wage adjustments have failed to compensate for the situation.

Although I am not deeply familiar with either platform, Lula’s and the Workers’ Party’s proposal seems more suitable to me at this time. And I say this at the risk of contradicting the political position I brought with me from my country.

However, I must make it clear that supporting this particular proposal does not make me a leftist, just as I can no longer identify with the right or with any other political position, because my focus is Christ.

At best, I can only support a proposal that benefits my people, without doctrinal or personal loyalties.

Despite not having the right to vote, at least I have the opportunity to express my support, and for the first time that support is not based on rejecting those who oppress me, but rather on a genuine political position.

If the right-wing candidate is elected, I will have the opportunity to gauge firsthand how the policies of a right-wing populist affect a huge but still developing country.

To this day, Brazil is known for its stark social contrasts. Despite having Latin America’s largest economy, it has one of the most unequal societies in the world. No party or political orientation has managed to reverse this reality.

Cuba is worse.

In Cuba, people are beaten, imprisoned, sentenced, and harassed simply for daring to criticize the government. This week we saw how an evangelical pastor was humiliated and detained for attempting to accompany the young Ana Bensi to an unjust trial.

Not everything in Brazil is perfect.

This country is part of a world where injustice prevails, but where we Cuban migrants come from is hell itself.

Read more from the diary of Osmel Almaguer aquí en Havana Times.