BRAZIL
Written by Zé Maria de Almeida
Monday, 07 July 2014 19:43
The changes demanded by millions of youngsters and workers who took to the streets last year, and who in 2014, have been going on strikes and carrying out demonstrations that shake off the country – such as the recent subway workers’ strike in São Paulo – will not come through the action of either the federal, the state or the municipal governments. All of them are committed to the large corporate groups rather than to the meeting of the people needs.

Nor do the changes will come through the different candidates who are presented today. The traditional right, represented by Aécio Neves (PSDB), has already ruled our country. Everyone remember the tragedy imposed on the people by FHC’s governments. Eduardo Campos (PSB) , who present themselves as alternatives to both the Workers’ Party (PT) and PSDB in the next presidential election, were part of the PT government up to a few days ago, and Marina Silva (REDE), his probable vice-president, used to be a Minister of Natural Environment during Lula’s presidential terms (2002-2010). Neither Marina Silva nor Eduardo Campos did something different from PT. Marina, when she was part of Lula’s government and Eduardo Campos during his government in Pernambuco State.

However the changes we need will not come from another PT’s administration through President Dilma’s reelection. We know that many workers still have expectations in PT. But one has to face the reality. After 12 years of government, the so-called “Brazil for All” of the PT’s propaganda comes down to offer ‘Family Allowance’ and credit that lead the low income classes to indebtedness.

The Brazilian people need high quality public services, decent wages and pensions, land reform, access to culture and leisure. However, far from ensuring this, the PT government promotes high scores of profitability for banks, contractors and multinational companies. The country grew, but the wealth continues to be funneled to banks and contractors just as (or, we should say, more than) in the previous governments. This happens because the PT opted to rule for the bankers, contractors, multinational companies, and large agribusiness companies, most of them foreign owned. The presence of such characters as Collor de Mello, José Sarney and Paulo Maluf in the PT government is the personification of this choice.

Therefore, the PSTU presents my candidacy for the presidency and of Claudia Durans, for vice president, who is a teacher and militant of the black feminist movement because the moment requires a working-class alternative to promote the changes our country needs.

We are going to present a program that points out to the necessary changes in the economic, political and social structure in the country in order to meet the demands of health, education, housing, public transportation, land reform, decent pension plan, employment and wages. A program that breaks up with capitalism and promotes a socialist change in our country. To implement this program it is necessary a working class government that breaks up with the bankers, contractors and multinational companies, to really change Brazil.

This is also the reason which prevented the establishment of the Left Front with the PSOL. The program advocated by this party is limited to the bourgeois democracy’s boundaries that is presently running Brazil, rejecting the rupture with capitalism for the establishment of a government of our class, the opposite of what is needed to really change Brazil.

The workers, when they built PT, more than 30 years ago, had this dream of reaching the government and changing the country. Lula and the leadership of that party exchanged this dream for an agreement with bankers and businessmen. Now the PT rules for them. My candidacy wants to rescue the working class dream. Therefore, it defends a path different from that road walked by PT. It defends the rupture with the banks and big business to change, in fact, Brazil; aiming at organizing the country according to the needs and interests of workers and the poor people.

Obviously, a change of such magnitude will not come only from elections. Votes are important because every one of them we get, in support of these ideas, is a step we are taking towards our goal. But it will take more than that. It will be required a lot of organization and the workers’, the youth’s and the oppressed sectors’ (black people, women and LGBT people) mobilization, to gather force for fostering this transformation in our country.

The PSTU’s campaign will defend the changes in our country and will stimulate and strengthen the workers and the youth struggles and organization. And will fight so that the largest possible number of workers and young people of this country join us to build a socialist project.

We invite you to join us in this campaign, spreading our program, supporting the PSTU candidacies on a national basis and in all states as well. Come, this is your fight too!

Published in Opinião Socialista no. 482