BRAZIL
Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR)
Struggle against retreating in politics and the economy, build the
Popular Unity for Socialism (UP), develop the consciousness of a
popular revolution of the masses and expand the struggle of workers,
women and youth
- As is known, the victory of Dilma and Labor Party (PT) in
the last election for President of the Republic was one of the closest
in the recent history of the country. Of the total valid votes, Dilma
obtained 54.5 million, while Aecio Neves received 51.0 million, that
is, a difference of only 3.5 million. Besides that, 30.14 million
people did not vote for either of the two candidates.
- This
result expresses a strengthening of the right-wing and the growing loss
of support for the PT among social sectors of the population who voted
for that party in previous elections. In fact, if one adds the votes
for Aecio and the abstentions, null and blank votes, more than 80
million people did not vote for the candidate of the PT and of Lula,
despite the fact that 330 million reals was spent on Dilma’s candidacy.
The result also shows that 80 million Brazilians opposed the return
of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) to the presidency
(taking into account the votes for Dilma and the null and blank votes);
therefore the elections showed a certain balance between these two
forces.
- Another expression of this loss of support was the decrease
in the number of PT seats in the Chamber of Deputies. In 2002 they
elected 91 federal deputies; in 2006 this fell to 83; in 2010 they won
88 seats and in 2014 this fell to 70, in addition to having lost 17 of
the 27 state capitals of the country.
- The weakening of the
PT is a result of the process of degeneration and shift to the right
since it deepened its links with the big national bourgeoisie (Jose
Alencar) and financial capital (Letter to the Brazilians). The
government changed its position on privatization and the public debt.
After assuming the reins of government, it did not make any structural
change in the economy of the country, nor did it adopt any important
measures such as land reform, the suspension of interest payments on
the public debt, nor did it nationalize any of the companies privatized
by Fernando Enrique Cardoso, unlike what the governments of Bolivia and
Venezuela did. Adding to this is the increasing involvement of the PT
in corruption scandals, as in the case of Operation Lava-Jato (car
wash).
- After the last elections, this loss of support
accelerated due to the concessions made to the right-wing, such as the
nomination of Joaquim Levy for Finance Minister (put forward by the
owner of Bradesco) and of Katia Abreu for Minister of Agriculture (put
forward by agribusiness), among others. More serious were the fiscal
adjustment measures to obtain primary surplus (guarantees to pay the
interest on the public debt), resolutions 664 and 665 which reduce the
right to unemployment insurance and the salary bonus for millions of
workers, and cutbacks to the funds for education. In addition, it
eliminated the right to reduced energy bills for millions of families
and increased these rates, as well as the price of gasoline. It also
allows the big supermarket chains a wave of increases not seen in the
country in recent years.
Such measures, contrary to what she trumpeted during the election
campaign and for which she criticized her opponents, made President
Dilma lose credibility and authority among a large part of the
population. This put the parties and forces of the left who supported
her on the defensive, causing distrust among the working masses and
further strengthening the rightward tendencies with her discourse.
- At the same time, since the new Government took office the
internal arguments in the PT have increased. Former President Lula
publicly criticized the ministers and Dilma’s way of governing; she met
with the Party of the Democratic Movement of Brazil (PMDB), providing a
reason for his attacks and the pressure for broader representation in
the Government. Such behavior further weakened the president and her
authority along with the PT, the PMDB and all the so-called allied
base. The fact that the Government lost the elections for the
presidency of the Chamber of Deputies in the votes in Congress
increased the mistrust of sectors of the big bourgeoisie in relation to
her ability to continue governing.
- The forces of the left
who supported her re-election, given the fiscal adjustment measures
imposed by the government, tried to mobilize to reverse them by calling
on the masses to go into the streets. Meanwhile, as the loss of support
for the Government accelerated and the extreme right continued to
become strengthened and threatened impeachment, the demonstrations that
initially protested the attacks on rights and of resolutions 664 and
665, the defense of Petrobras and the democratization of the media,
etc., were mainly transformed into acts of support for Dilma’s
government.
- According to the Unified Confederation of
Workers (CUT), the demonstrations of March 13 brought out between 150
and 200 thousand people throughout the country. Although they were
important, this is a small number in a country the size of Brazil.
Furthermore, they were events organized by parties of the left,
parliamentarians, prefectures and organizations such as the CUT, the
Movement of the Landless (MST), and the Union of Students (UNE) in
support of a government elected less than five months earlier with more
than 54 million votes. Remember that the demonstrations of June of 2013
brought out more than three million people.
- On the other
hand, on March 15 the right-wing, with full support of the media, held
demonstrations against corruption and against the government that,
according to the Datafolha Institute, brought more than 500 thousand
people into the streets, with 72% of the participants in these
demonstrations being voters of the PSDB, mostly from the middle and
rich sectors of the population. These demonstrations showed the
offensive of the right-wing, their capacity to mobilize of the most
privileged sectors of the population and that they can continue to
influence the popular sectors.
After March 15, a report of the Ministry of Social Communication of
the Presidency, described the state of mind of the right-wing and of
members of the PT: “Ironically, today it is the voters for Dilma and
Lula who are well- off with cell phones in hand, while the opposition
waves handkerchiefs. We must retake the offensive. But first we must
take back the streets.” And it states: “One cannot say that inflation
is under control when the voter sees the price of gasoline go up 20%
since November to now, or his electricity bill jumps by 33%. The
official data of the Extended Consumer Price Index (IPCA) means less
than what they feel in their pockets. And that a Toucan senator
(Antonio Anastasia, from Minas Gerais) is in the list of Lava-Jato does
not change the fact that the scandal took place during the
administration of the PT”.
- It should be noted here that neither on March 13 nor on
March 15 did the demonstrations have the size and combativeness of
those of June 2013, which faced fierce repression and won gains such as
the reduction of transport fares in several capitals and cities of the
country, without the support of any government or media.
- At
this time, although there is a reactionary minority who want a military
coup against the Government and a return to dictatorship, there is no
basis for that, because our people won democracy thanks to the struggle
of the masses and of revolutionaries such as Manuel Lisboa, Carlos
Marighella and Sonia Angel and they will not allow a return to fascism.
In short, the coup will not succeed!
But there is the possibility of an institutional coup, or
impeachment, considering that the Government is continuing to make
concessions to the right-wing and will not give up the adoption of
fiscal adjustment measures that hurt the poorest people or dismiss the
ministers who represent the interests of the rich classes. Besides, its
main ally in the National Congress, the PMDB, has no principles.
- To stop the growth of the right-wing and regain popular
support the government has to change, to govern for the working masses
and not for the rich classes, to make the rich pay for the crisis and
not those who work and earn low wages. It must tax the big fortunes,
control profit remittances, suspend the payment of the interest on the
debt, control prices, make the Federal Police investigate
privatizations; stop wild concessions, the privatization of roads,
airports and oil auctions. If the government continues to play with the
popular sectors on account of the crisis, allowing the big companies to
continue mass firings, eliminating the rights won by the people, the
right-wing with their demagogy and media will gain more and more
support among the population.
- We must not be indifferent to
this situation. We must repudiate all attempts at a coup, denounce the
crimes of the military dictatorship, demand punishment for the
torturers and unmask what the PSDB and the party of the right-wing
Democrats (DEM) are and what they did to the people.
At the same time, we must make clear that we do not agree with the
political economy of the Government, with its fiscal adjustment
program, with the privatizations and privileges for finance capital.
Finally, the Government needs to turn left and take firm measures such
as freezing prices, suspending payments on the public debt,
renationalizing the privatized companies, reducing the costs of
electricity bills and rents, taxing the big fortunes, reducing taxes on
workers, etc. We also must demand the immediate resignation of Joaquim
Levy and Katia Abreu, as well as more funds for health care and
education. We state that the crisis in Brazil cannot be solved with the
bourgeoisie in the government, and we must spread our revolutionary
program. The fact is that the people should only go out into the street
to defend a government when it is on their side, and not on the side of
the rich, or when there is the risk of a fascist coup and the
establishment of a dictatorship in the country.
- Comrades, the time demands firmness and combativeness of the
members of the Revolutionary Communist Party. More than ever we need to
increase our Party’s influence among the working masses, organize and
support strikes, recruit hundreds of members, organize cells in the
neighborhoods, factories, schools and universities, organize brigades
of the newspaper A Verdade (The Truth) every week, win over the unions,
DCEs, carry out occupations and marches and teach the people that only
those who fight can win. We must raise the consciousness of the masses
about the need for a popular revolution and what a socialist society is.
- Finally, however, we must not forget that we have a big task in 2015,
which is to win the legalization of Popular Unity for Socialism, UP. We
must stop being on the defensive and make our priority to win support
for the UP, have daily goals and organize national days for the
collection of signatures.
Click here to return to the Index, U&S 30