We are facing one of the greatest crises of capitalism. However, the crisis does not affect everyone the same way. While the big banks continue profiting billions in Brazil, unemployment is the harsh reality for more than 66 millions of male and female workers.
By: PSTU Brazil
While the big international investors profit with the handing over of Petrobras, the oil and all of our wealth to foreign capital, thousands of families have been forced to return to cook with firewood and hunger affects more than 10 million Brazilians. This, in one of the greatest world economies. The crisis revealed the most cruel and inhuman face of capitalism.
During a growth period, successive governments destined crumbs to workers and the poorest population. In crisis, they discharge its effects with violence over the working class and the poor people’s back.
Violence is not just a metaphor. It is quite concrete reality in a country where more than 60 thousand of people are murdered every year. Where the poor and black youth of the periphery is victim of genocide and mass incarceration, while the big corrupt enjoy complete impunity. Besides, working women are dying in the clandestine abortion clinics or as feminicide victims.
We suffered the blatant neoliberalism years of Collor and Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC), with their indiscriminate trade opening, unemployment and recession.
We lived the betrayal of the PT administration who surfed a wave of economic growth and prioritized the interests and profits of the big contractors, banks and agribusiness. For this reason, they did not solve the enormous historical problems that afflict us. On the contrary, they deepened the dependence of our economy and the inequality. Today, six billionaires hold the wealth of one hundred million Brazilians.
Temer has deepened the attacks against the working class, with a labor reform that improves even more the exploitation. He also threatened to do a pensions reform with the sole purpose to guarantee the debt payment to the big foreign bankers at the expense of our retirement.
In a huge economic, social and political crisis, we can see several candidates placing themselves at the disposal to continue deepening the latest government’s economic policy. There are several candidates, but their project is the same: to continue managing capitalism, which sentences millions to hunger and unemployment.
Before this, the Unified Workers Socialist Party (PSTU) is obligated to present to the Brazilian working class and poor people, a socialist and revolutionary alternative. A program that appoints a break with capitalism, the big banks and companies, calling the working class and the poor people to rebel, to carry out a revolution to destroy capitalism and to build, in struggle, a workers socialist government, based on popular councils. Only a socialist program can end up the imperialist domination in our country, guarantee a second and actual independence and stop all exploitation and oppression.
- Revocation of all reforms that take our rights! No to the pensions reform!
The first task placed to the working class is the revocation of all reforms that took away rights in the last period. From the attack to the unemployment insurance, PIS/PASEP and to the pensions in Dilma’s government to Temer’s labor reform that increased the exploitation to raise the businessmen’s profits. To revoke in addition the subcontracting law and the PEC of expenditure caps, which freeze public investments for 20 years. In the same way, we will not allow any pensions reform. We call on the workers to struggle and resist against any attack to our retirement, whichever government it comes from.
2- For the right to work! Reduction in working hours without salary cuts!
Unemployment is one of the harshest consequences of the social war against male and female workers in this crisis. Although official rates state there are 13 millions of unemployed, more than 66 millions of persons are without job in this country, without taking into account those facing the hard reality of underemployment and informality. We need the reduction of the work shift to 36 hours, without salary cuts, opening new jobs at the expense of the company profits. In an emergency, we need to extend unemployment insurance for 2 years.
3- For a public works plan to generate jobs and solve structural problems
We need a public works plan under workers´ control that generate jobs and, at the same time, respecting the environment, solves structural problems, like the deficit of basic sanitation, schools and hospitals, financed with the funds that today are going to the payment of the public debt and tax exemptions to the big companies.
4 – General increase in salaries and pensions.
We defend a general increase in salaries and pensions, setting as a minimum the salary indicated by DIEESE (Inter-union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies) for the compliance of the constitution, that is, the minimum to support a four-person family. In august, this value was 3.804,06 reals [approximately 1 thousand dollars]. That is four times more than the minimum in force, of 954 reals [approximately 250 dollars].
5 – Nationalization of the 100 greatest companies under workers control.
The Brazilian economy is controlled today by a handful of big companies, a large part of them controlled by foreign capital. The 100 greatest companies have an approximate income of 40% of everything that Brazil produces in 1 year. However, they are only responsible for 2 millions of jobs, in a universe of more than 100 million Brazilian workers. The nationalization of these companies is necessary. To put them under workers control and make them produce in according to the needs of the population, instead of the profits of half dozen billionaires.
6 – Housing, education, and public health with quality for everybody
The expropriation of empty properties and plots that serve speculation is needed. To allocate them for popular housing under the control of the residents themselves. It is also needed to regularize immediately the areas occupied by poor people and workers suspending all the evictions. In addition to investing in the construction of popular housing until the housing deficit ends.
In the same way, education and health cannot be merchandises. They are basic rights that everyone must have access. To achieve this, it is necessary to nationalize private schools and private, as well as private hospitals, ensuring education in all levels, assistance and integrated medical treatment for workers and the poor people. Massive scale investment is needed in health and education, investing in these areas what is spent today in the payment of the debt to the bankers.
7 – Fields for those who works! Nationalization and expropriation of great land owners! Revolution and radical land reform!
Today, the rural areas in Brazil are in the hands of the agribusiness, controlled by a small number of big companies and the international financial capital. We produce to export, not to feed the population. The rural areas in Brazil are the main feature of the denationalization of our economy. We defend the nationalization of the large landholdings and of the named agribusiness under workers control so that they can define their production according to the people´s needs and in harmony with the environment.
We defend the division of the great lands to guarantee lands for those landless peasants who ask for it, as well as all conditions to produce and commercialize their products with access to cheap credit and technical support to these small producers. This would enable guaranteeing cheap food for the population.
8 – Regularization and titration of the indigenous and quilombola communities.
The agribusiness’s advance provokes a real genocide of the indigenous and quilombola population. Under Temer and PT´s governments, the violence in the rural areas grew even more. Now, Brazil is the country where more people are murdered in this context. The titration, regularization and protection of these areas must be insured immediately.
9 – Imprisonment and confiscation of corrupts’ and corruptor’s property.
Corruption is part of capitalism. One does not exist without the other. It is necessary to put corrupts and corruptors in jail. The few that have been arrested stay a short time in jail, and then they come back to their mansions to enjoy everything that they steel. They have to stay in prison and get their goods confiscated. The companies involved in corruption must be taken over by the workers.
10 – Suspension of the debt payment and debt audit!
The foreign and internal debts constitute one of the main mechanisms of subordination of Brazil to the rich countries, their banks and companies. It is a real duct that drains something like 40% of the federal budget to a bunch of big bankers. That is no way to change the country without ending with this usury. We must suspend the payment of the debt, open this black-box and perform an audit. The end of debt payment is the first and crucial condition to invest in health, education and employment.
11 – Prohibition of profit remittances! Nationalization of the financial system!
The big multinational companies dominate our economy. They take advantage of subsidies and exemptions, they exploit our cheap work force and they send to the headquarters, in the rich countries, the result of our work. We finance through our sweat the profits of great capitalists. It is necessary to prohibit the profit remittances and to nationalize the big multinationals under workers’ control including banks like Santander. To do so the financial system must also be under workers’ control.
12 – End of the Tax Liability Law! For a Social Responsibility Law!
The tax liability law approved by FHC and kept by the Workers Party (PT) aims to prioritize the debt payment in detriment of investment in health and education. We must end this law and substitute it for a social responsibility law. The roof of public spending has the same function as it freezes the spending for 20 years.
13 – Re-nationalization of private companies, under workers’ control
Brazil is being easily handed over to foreign capital at a bargain price. We must suspend all privatizations, take back all that has been handed over and put them under the workers’ control. This includes some state-owned enterprises like: Petrobrás, Vale do Rio Doce, Embraer and others.
14 – For the end of criminalization of fights and of poverty! Revocation of the antiterrorism law! Demilitarization of the Military Police and decriminalization of drugs!
The successive governments approved laws in which the only objective is to criminalize the fights, the poverty and the black and poor youth of the outskirts. The antiterrorism law approved by Dilma Roussef´s government, and the drugs law of Lula´s government are examples of this. On the other hand, the military intervention decreed by Temer is an offensive against the poor population of the city, which aims to increase repression towards the poor people and to avoid a social rebellion.
We also defend the demilitarization of the Military Police, a dictatorship remnant that still persists. For a unified civilian police under the population and workers’ control, with the right to organization and to unionization.
For the end of the antiterrorism law which only addresses the criminalization of the fights! For the free right to organization and the workers and the poor people´s fight!
For the workers and the poor people’s self-defense, organized in the fights, in the districts, in the occupations, and so on.
15 – For the end of all oppression! Against racism, male chauvinism, LGBTphobia and xenophobia!
The black and poor youth suffers a true genocide in the peripheries. Every two hours a woman is murdered in Brazil. Not to mention women dying of clandestine abortion. This country is also the one that kills more LGBTs in the world. A victim every 19h. These figures are the products of exploitation, of inequality, and of oppression imposed by capitalism. We defend the combat against the racism and to the myth of racial democracy: for the historical repair, the end of over exploitation and of the poor and black youth genocide, and for the end of the social inequalities between blacks and whites.
In defense of the working woman we fight against all kinds of violence towards women; we fight for the equality of rights and salaries; for the legalized, public and free abortion.
We defend the criminalization of LGBTphobia, now! For the recognition of the trans identities and to stop seeing trans sexuality as a pathology, as well as acceptance of the social name. We must still guarantee medical assistance to the LGBT demands in the Unified Health System. We defend an education that teaches respect and diversity. No to the “School Without Party”.
Documents for the immigrant workers and equal rights for all the Brazilian workers.
16 – For a workers’ government based on popular councils
A Socialist Project means to put Brazil in the hands of the workers and the poor people. The workers must decide the courses of politics everyday. They should not just be called to vote every four years in elections of marked cards, which are dictated by the contractors and the banks. We must build popular councils in the districts, in the factories, in the working and studying places and transform them into real government bodies. The popular councils must control and decide over 100% of the budget, and the functioning of the districts, the cities, the State and the country.
