By COCO SMYTH
This Congress marked 20 years since the foundation of the federation, when it separated from the Workers’ Party’s (PT) CUT trade-union federation. CSP-CONLUTAS broke from the CUT to build a class-conscious and militant movement independent of the PT during a period of increasing class collaboration and accommodation to capitalism by the leading elements of the PT and the CUT.
I attended the Congress as one of the 36 international delegates who came to observe and support the efforts of CSP-CONLUTAS to build a revolutionary and internationalist labor and social movement formation in Brazil.
The first thing I heard standing in the queue for registration for the Congress on the first day was the sound of musicians playing berimbaus. Grupo Raça e Clase, a CSP-CONLUTAS-affiliated social movement organization that fights for the rights of Black Brazilians, was putting on a capoeira performance led by children and young people. Capoeira, a martial art developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil to resist their oppressors, while adapted into mainstream Brazilian culture in the 20th century, still acts as a symbol of struggle and collective resistance for Afro-Brazilians.
After registration, the proceedings began. Much of the first two days’ agenda focused on discussion of the international political situation from a revolutionary working-class perspective. Dozens of speakers from a variety of affiliated unions and revolutionary organizations put forward and debated perspectives on the state of imperialism, from the decline of U.S. imperialism to the rise of China and Russia. Organizers put forward strong positions in favor of Palestinian liberation and against U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran and Lebanon, as well as in support of Ukraine’s struggle for self-determination against Russia.
On the first day, a video statement from Mandi Coelho, an organizer with Rebeldia Juventude, the youth wing of the United Socialist Workers’ Party (PSTU), an influential organization within CSP-CONLUTAS, was met with enthusiasm from the 1500 attendees. Coelho was speaking from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which brought together hundreds of activists from across the world to attempt to break the siege on Gaza and bring vital humanitarian aid to Gaza. Chants for a free Palestine resounded while Palestinian flags waved across the packed conference hall. There was no doubt where the organization stood on this and many other vital questions of international politics.
I, along with delegates from 19 other countries, were given the chance to speak in front of the Congress about the conditions and struggles in our countries and the importance of the work of CSP-CONLUTAS. The whole hall listened attentively to the speakers from around the world with the clear recognition that our struggles are interlinked and that we are part of one international movement. The significant time in the Congress dedicated to consideration of the world political situation demonstrated just how central internationalism is to CSP-CONLUTAS — not solely out of moral conviction, but because of the global nature of capitalist exploitation and imperialist oppression and the global nature of the struggle of the working class.
But the Congress wasn’t solely a pep rally or a reaffirmation of principles. Over the course of the four days, delegates spoke passionately about the priorities and orientation of the organization and debated with gusto the strategy and approach of their federation. Among the key debates were the relationship between the social movement and labor affiliate organizations of CSP-CONLUTAS. When it came time to vote, delegates adopted an ambitious program of struggle which included a campaign against the 6×1 (6 days on, 1 day off) workweek in favor of a 4×3 workweek, in contrast to the Lula government’s legislative work in favor of a 5×2 schedule. They also adopted campaigns against the epidemic of femicide in Brazil, as well as in support of the Indigenous struggle, which has heightened in the country in recent years.
By the end of the Congress, CSP-CONLUTAS adopted plans of action and resolutions, including:
- End 6×1 workweek in favor of 4×3
- Reduction of workweek without reduction of pay
- Opposition to Fiscal Framework
- End Privatization and Precarization
- Class independence from the Lula government
- Unify the social and labor movements
- Class-oriented May Day mobilizations
- Resolutions against machismo, LGBT-phobia, racism, and violence against women
- Support for Indigenous struggle
- Support for Palestine and solidarity against imperialism
- Condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as NATO’s role.
Seeing CSP-CONLUTAS in action
Beyond the Congress hall, I got to see in practice the work of CSP-CONLUTAS. I attended a student-led demonstration at the University of São Paulo (USP) in support of the strike of both students and workers at the university. USP, with 97,000 students, is the largest and one of the most prestigious of Brazil’s universities. Despite this, the situation for students, faculty, and staff are dire. Staff began the strike to fight back against outsourcing, inequality, and poor pay and benefits. The students supported the workers demand while putting forward their own demands for better conditions at the university. The students’ demands included addressing the housing shortage and inadequate scholarships which push thousands of working-class students to the brink trying to complete degrees without funds.
A crowd of students and workers took over the busy streets to advance this struggle. The rally was headed up by a truck with a PA system and a drum corps, which kept up the spirits and energy. CSP-CONLUTAS members and affiliated organizations were visible with their flags among the crowd of nearly 1000 students and university workers. After my brief experience on the demonstration, the strike continued to heat up and widen and is still ongoing.
In the following days, I, along with a number of other international delegates, went to Sao Jose dos Campos, where CSP-CONLUTAS has established a strong base, especially among their traditional base of metalworkers. Early in the morning before the start of their shift, we attended a mass meeting of metalworkers, who were deciding whether or not to accept concessions offered by management to avoid a strike. Thanks to their militant approach and the activity of the workers, the deal offered by management conceded on nearly all of the workers’ fundamental demands, so the deal was voted up with excitement. This meeting was one small window into what can be accomplished when unions have an active rank-and-file membership and leaders who aren’t afraid to take a militant approach in fighting against management.
Later that day, we went to Quilombo Coraçao Valente (Braveheart), a community of about 350 families outside of Jacarei near Sao Jose dos Campos. Community leaders, all women, told us about their years-long fight against the government for their right to live on the land. After seven years of struggle, they finally forced the government to recognize their collective rights to the land. The community is run democratically and seeks to improve the conditions of the residents.
As a self-organized community of the working poor, abandoned and scorned by the government, the town contrasts heavily with the impressive architecture in the rich areas of São Paulo. But the ingenuity and organization of a community banding together to secure their survival was inspiring. We saw modern wells they constructed as well as their system for cultivating produce.
CSP-CONLUTAS, which has a historic base and its headquarters in Sao Jose Dos Campos, has actively supported the struggle of Coração Valente for years. Seeing the efforts of CSP-CONLUTAS to support the variety of labor and social struggles in Brazil really showed how the organization has managed to establish roots within the militant layer of the working class in the country.
Lessons for the United States
For me, the most powerful takeaway from the Congress was the living proof of what is possible when workers are organized on a class independent, militant, and socially conscious basis. In the U.S., the labor movement has faced decline for decades while the social movements, despite the support of millions, are only sporadically organized. At the same time, the lack of a serious political alternative allows the Democratic Party to regularly co-opt and defang our movements—from the top union leaderships down to the consciousness of local activists.
CSP-CONLUTAS, despite the pressures to adapt to the Lula government, has shown the strength of unions and social movements in maintaining total independence from the bourgeoisie and its parties. Without building toward a serious break of our movements from the Democratic Party, the construction of an effective labor movement is impossible, let alone a mass socialist movement capable of winning.
We have no lack of discontent in the United States for our government’s crimes against us and against the people of the world, but we have no significant organizations that are able to channel that energy toward changing society. Seeing the efforts of CSP-CONLUTAS gives proof in practice that we can and must build mass organizations capable of organizing the working class. We must not only organize workers in workplace struggles but also bring in the social movements that confront the oppression that disfigures the lives of millions of workers while dividing us into competing sectors.
Class-independent organization that is geared toward fighting for workers’ interests in all spheres of life is essential to bring the working class into position to win the changes we desperately need. CSP-CONLUTAS proves that internationalism, working-class militancy, and fundamental opposition to oppression present a real alternative to the bourgeois politics on offer within the labor and social movements. A better movement can be built, and it is our duty as militants in the United States to learn from our comrades worldwide about how we can build it.