We republish below an unofficial translation of the following article from the Brazilian New Democratic newspaper A Nova Democracia, originally published on February 19, 2025.
The editorial staff of AND will soon be preparing a complete tribute to this great proletarian revolutionary leader, with his trajectory and the great role he played in the struggle for a new democracy and in the direction of AND.
by AND Editorial Staff
With indescribable sadness, we inform all readers, viewers, supporters and activists organized around the newspaper A Nova Democracia that, on February 19, at approximately 3:00 a.m., the heart of the founder and eternal general director of AND, our beloved, respected and trainer of the current generation of AND journalists, Fausto Aguiar Arruda Filho, Professor Fausto Arruda, stopped beating. Although our hearts are heavy with the pain of losing his remarkable physical presence in the world, we look to the glorious example of his trajectory, of total devotion to the democratic and revolutionary cause, in which nothing was more important than the fight for a new world; and, striving to follow his brilliant personal example, we will continue to have him with us forever.
In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the professor was diagnosed with a degenerative disease known as Lewy Body, and was forced to step away from his duties. Gradually, the disease took hold, until it made all his activities unfeasible. At the end of last year, doctors decided to change his medication, as it was no longer effective and was making his delicate situation even worse, introducing new drugs. This procedure led to a relative improvement in his well-being and his family noticed, to some extent, his interactivity and connection with the outside world. However, in recent days he developed a high fever, bacterial pneumonia was detected and the administration of antibiotics did not change the situation. Today, February 19, his death was confirmed.
In private conversations with fellow fighters, Professor Fausto, very aware of his illness when its first signs appeared, said that what he feared most was living without consciousness, which is what characterizes the human condition. At the end of 2020, he began to live with his family, loved and surrounded by his wife, daughters and grandchildren, who took great care of him. Before the illness severely restricted his consciousness, in 2022-23, he received several visits from fellow fighters and the newspaper at his home in Fortaleza, receiving reports on the developments in the popular struggle and the newspaper: he reacted, moved by the information, with his characteristic laugh, unable to speak. He celebrated, as best he could, the advances in our common struggle for human emancipation, of which he was a prominent part.
Already this year, in the short period in which he had a relative manifestation of his cognitive abilities, his partner and daughters were able to inform him that the work of AND and the struggle, to which he dedicated his entire life, were progressing and continued to advance; according to one of his daughters, she felt that he connected when surrounded by the affection of his loved ones, and so he was able to hear that he should rest assured, that he had fulfilled with courage and honor the commitments of the cause that he had assumed above all else and the responsibilities and tasks that were delegated to him. Finally, he told him that he could rest in peace after having fulfilled his duty, an honor bestowed upon the best.
Soon, the editorial staff of AND will prepare a complete tribute to this great proletarian revolutionary leader, with his trajectory and the great role he played in the struggle for a new democracy and in the direction of AND.
Long live the great and beloved professor Fausto Arruda!
Eternal honor and glory to the great professor Fausto Arruda!
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