We live turbulent times. The political and economic crisis arrives in the country at a devastating speed. Many activists feel disoriented, and in the left as a whole it predominates confusion, and sadly, the capitulation to a government that betrayed the working class and aims to appear together with the bourgeoisie and the imperialism as the only still viable alternative.
By PSTU Brazil.
We systematize here some of the main questions the left has, and the position of PSTU regarding them.
- Is there a coup in the country?
There is no coup going on, not military neither parliamentary. For the revolutionaries, a coup presumes an attack to democratic freedoms of the population and the mass movement, in the middle of breaking the rules of the bourgeois democracy.
For this to be a coup, PT’s government should have, also, unsolvable contradictions with the bourgeoisie and the imperialism. What we see, however, is the opposite of that (read more at http://www.pstu.org.br/node/21994). Dilma and the PT govern with and for the bourgeoisie, the great landowners and the international bankers. Even during her last days in the Planalto [Govern House], Dilma is making an effort to appear trustable to the bourgeoisie: she rushed the privatization of four airports and started the works of the Belo Monte plant, undermining thousands of indigenous and coastal people.
The impeachment battle occurs because a sector of the bourgeoisie perceived Dilma’s government was worn out and could not implement its policy anymore, no matter how hard she tried. Therefore, it is a dispute between two bourgeois fields to see who takes the government to implement the adjustment and throw the weight of the crisis over the workers’ shoulders. Nevertheless, it is a dispute that goes through the inside of the dirty game of the Congress full of corrupts financed by contractor companies.
The “coup” speech is a way for PT and the government to defend Dilma’s administration and get support for a government that, they know, cannot be defended from the point of view of the left; a speech that was sadly accepted by most of the left.
- Why Dilma’s government is falling?
Dilma’s government is not falling due to a coup articulation or an offensive of the conservative forces. PT’s government falls due to its own decisions. In 2014 elections, Dilma was already worn out due to the crisis and the economic policy of the government, which expressed for most part of the population as a deceleration of job creation and inflation. During the campaign, with a clear possibility of loosing the election, PT rehearsed a speech “to the left”, attacking the profit of the banks (despite the banks got record profits during Lula’s and Dilma’s turns), and denouncing that, in case PSDB wins, Aécio would attack the workers’ rights and make privatizations.
The electoral strategy worked and the population voted on the “lesser evil”. But soon after that, Dilma did everything she said Aécio would do. She implemented a deep fiscal adjustment, she attacked the workers’ rights by restricting the access to unemployment insurance and the PIS [Social Integration Program], and she continued the privatizations. The betrayal reflected in a vertiginous fall of the governments’ popularity while they starred its support collapse. By the end of April, the government had a 70% disapproval rate. The hissing to the leadership of the Metal Workers’ Union of the ABC region, in the Volkswagen meeting when trying to defend Dilma’s government, is a symbol of this.
This political crisis, linked to the deepening of the economic crisis, had its reflection in the parliament, with the dissolution of the allied base of the government; Dilma started to have difficulties approving the attacks to the workers (it is worth to remember, by the beginning of the year, the Social Security reform was a priority for the government), and she saw the impeachment process moving forward. The denounces on corruption for the Lava Jato [money laundry] reached essential figures of the government and got to Eduardo Cunha, who was a government’s ally until then, what made the situation explosive.
Dilma’s fall only occurs because there was a rupture of the masses, the population and the working class with the government. It would be impossible, for example, to imagine a situation like this with the government having 80% of approval among the population.
- Is there a conservative wave?
On the side of the “coup” speech, there are sectors of the PT and the left who affirm there is a conservative wave in the country, today. They quote, as examples, the reactionary speeches of the Deputy Chamber during the impeachment vote, and the violence in the field, or even more, the masses’ protests against the government. Leaving the latest one out, these elements are not new. Just to quote one example, the assassination of indigenous people during the first two turns of Lula and half Dilma’s increased 168% compared to Fernando Henrique Cardozo’s government [FHC].
The working class and most oppressed and poor sectors of the population have been suffering uncountable attacks during the last years. But these attacks have the PT’s government as an ally, an ally to the great landowners and everything there is as more reactionary in politics, as Sarney, Collor y Paulo Maluf. The ruralist Kátia Abreu, enemy of the landless and environmentalist activists, is the Minister of Agriculture, and one of the only ones that remained next to Dilma until the end. In the last period, Dilma’s government approved the Anti-terrorism Bill, which aims to criminalize the social movements.
If there is an offensive against the working class, PT is part of it. But reality does not allow to say there is a conservative or reactionary wave turning the mass movement defensive; on the contrary. After June 2013, there was an increase of strikes and mobilizations. That year, according to the Dieese [Inter-Unions Department of Statistic and Socio-economic Studies], we had the highest number of strikes in our history, with the private sector above the public sector. School occupations of high-school students in São Paulo defeated the project of schools closure of last year, and now in 2016 the conflict begins again strongly, reaching Rio de Janeiro and other parts of the country. In Rio, there is a huge mobilization of public workers against the delay of payments and because of the situation of the public services. The electoral polls show no reactionary wave either. The candidate of PSDB, Aécio Neves, for example, the one who can be identified as more “to the right” among the main candidates, lost 10 points between January and April.
4.Is Dilma the “lesser evil” in front of Temer’s government?
In the campaign to stay in presidency, Dilma is announcing Temer will cut wage off social areas, like “Bolsa Familia” [Family Allowance], besides privatizations. This is all true; what Dilma does not say is this is exactly what her government was doing until she could not anymore, due to the political crisis. For example, Dilma’s economic team was preparing the proposal to reform the Social Security to establish the minimum age defended by Temer’s group now.
The proposal to limit public costs was sent today by the government of PT as a Bill Project [PL] of urgent character to the National Congress. This deepens the Fiscal Responsibility Law and imposes a series of “triggers” that can go from reducing the amount of public employees up to readjusting the basic salary. The labour reform, defended by the [Industries’ Federation of São Paulo], is being implemented in practice through the Job Protection Program [PPE], elaborated by the CUT, and it was established via Provisional Measure [MP] by Dilma. The PPE, under the excuse of not dismissing, reduces the salaries of the workers (currently threatened of massive dismissals in the ABC region). Meanwhile, the privatizations continue, and Dilma even got to rush the license of 4 airports while she is still governing.
The major proof Temer is the continuation of Dilma’s government, besides the fact Temer was explicit about this, are the names chosen for the Ministries. For the Treasury Department, Temer called Henrique Meirelles, ex worker of the Bank of Boston, who was also defended by Lula for the same spot during Dilma’s turn.
Dilma’s as much as a possible Temer’s government are both equally reactionary. They rule for the bourgeoisie, and must be confronted.
5.Is the PSTU aligned with the right-wing by calling Out with All of Them?
It is not novelty the PSTU has been accused of being on the right-wing side for being opposition to the PT’s government. This argument is always used as a way to neutralize the opposition, and more, to stop the strengthening of a left-wing alternative. We must question: what right are they talking about? The one represented by Maluf and Collor, who were in the base of the government until a few days ago? Or Kátia Abreu, former leader of the National Confederation of Agriculture [CAN], who is still on Dilma’s side?
Aware or not, who defends Dilma’s government is together with a bourgeois sector, the same thing with who defends Temer or Aécio. The only independent position, capable of representing the necessities of the working class, is being against Dilma’s government and all other bourgeois alternatives.
6.Does the PSTU defend the impeachment?
The PSTU defends the necessity of overthrowing Dilma’s government, a government whose goals are to attack the working class, approve the tax adjustment and everything possible to make most of the population to pay for the crisis. But Temer is not an alternative, neither are Aécio or this corrupt National Congress, financed by major contractors. Changing Dilma for Temer would be trading six for half a dozen.
For the PSTU, the population and specifically the working class must mobilize to take this government and this entire Congress out, in the streets, through a general strike. This is why we have been insisting in calling the workers’ organizations, such as the CUT, CTB, MTST, Fuerza Sindical and others, to break with the government and the right, and come build, with the entities gathered at the Space of Unity of Action, such as CSP-Conlutas, a general strike to take them all down.
7.If the PSTU does not defend impeachment, why are you not participating of the demonstrations called by CUT and MTST?
The PSTU does not defend Temer to take the power, as he will continue to attack the workers as PT was doing. But we do not defend Stay Dilma either, which is the content of the demonstrations called by these organizations, like CUT, with the PT at the head, as they state to be fighting an alleged “coup”. Honest activists who are opposition to the government believe thesis of “defending the democracy”, and they are participating of demonstrations which political content is to defend Dilma. The PSTU defends, instead, the construction of a workers’ side against Dilma, Temer and the National Congress.
8.What does the PSTU defend as a way out of this crisis?
The PSTU defends the construction of a General Strike to put them all out: Dilma, Temer, Cunha, Renan Claheiros and the National Congress. Neither Dilma nor Temer represent an alternative for the working class. The only way to defeat the austerity plans and the economic policy, that has left more than 11 millions unemployed, and continues to reduce our salaries, is to take them all down. The PSTU defends a socialist workers’ government, with no bosses and corrupts, which relies in Popular Councils built by the workers on their struggles, instead of in the National Congress.
As Popular Councils do not exist yet, the PSTU defends general elections. Not the ones defended by a sector of PT, but elections for all positions: deputies, senators and president. Elections with different rules: no private funds equal TV time for all parties, with no corrupts participating, and regular mandates with no privileges; with a salary equal to a teacher or an industrial worker, and revocable at any time.
Translation: Sofía Ballack.
