Down with the PEC 55 and the Social Security and Labour Reforms! It is time to organize a General Strike! Temer and most of the National Congress (PMDB, PSDB, PT, DEM, PDT, PcdoB, etc.) are doing everything to guarantee the impunity of the corrupt ones and corruptors, besides favouring the bankers and great businessman that finance their electoral campaigns. Meanwhile, the government and the Congress load the crisis they generated over the workers’ shoulders.
By National Exceutive Leadership of PSTU-B.
During November 29, while everyone was in shock by the tragedy of Chapecoense, the Senate was voting the PEC 55 in first turn and the Chamber of Deputies was passing the anti-corruption measures presented by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), approving several of them aiming to save the corrupt ones and corruptors.
The discontent is generalized, bringing back the imminent possibility of massive demonstrations against the impunity of the corrupt ones and the corruptors, for the Out With Temer, against the PEC 55 and for Out With All Of Them. Temer cannot go anywhere without being booed (just like in the Congress), as he does the same thing Dilma was doing: benefitting the corrupt politicians, the bankers and great businessmen, while attacking the workers’ rights.
Only the mobilization of workers, youth and the whole people can say “Enough!” to this situation, put the corrupt ones and the corruptors in jail, put Temer down and make them all leave, as much as defeat the reforms that attack rights and social achievements, guarantee jobs, health, education, transportation, housing and security.
They Do Not Represent Us! Chamber Votes Measures To Guarantee The Impunity Of The Corrupt Ones
We defend the prison and seizure of goods of all the corrupt ones and corruptors. In no way the impunity of the corrupt ones can be defended, as most of the National Congress and the parties that make part of it are doing, like the PSDB, PMDB, PT and others.
It is a true scandal that part of the left-wing has the courage of aligning with Renan Calheiros,[1] Rodrigo Maia and Aécio Neves[2] to defend the corrupt ones, and even say the struggle against corruption is not a flag of the left-wing. The PT, that used to defend “ethics in politics” now says the corruption is not a problem. How come…? The struggle against the corruption is a democratic flag and the prison and seizure of goods of the corrupt ones and corruptors has always been a flag raised by the left-wing!
What happens is that most of the left-wing subscribed, ‘with weapons and luggage’,[3] to the bourgeois state, the electoralism and the administration of capitalism. It ended up being part of one of its evils: the corruption. This was the choice made by the PT during all these years, and the result is visible. This is the choice that strengthens the right-wing, not the combat against corruption![4]
The Chamber of Deputies, by approving the modifications of the measures against the corruption, is actually looking to guarantee the impunity of the corruptors. Under the pretext of avoiding excesses and abuse of authority regarding the MPF and the Lava Jato, the Chamber voted in favour of annulling points like the classification of crime and illicit enrichment of public officials and the foresight of seizure of goods related to this crime. Even the PSOL voted in favour of this. They also voted for the creation of “responsibility crime” for judges and members of the MPF, posing very subjective points as the conducts to be punished. For example: they can present Action of Administrative Improbity against public agents that act “in a temerarious way”, resulting in two years in prison, plus fines. This does not foresee to avoid excesses or mistakes but to intimidate.
Besides, the matter of abuse of authority, something no one can oppose to, is nothing but a big hypocrisy manifested by deputies and senators only now, when facing white collar crimes, when the powerful corrupt ones and corruptors are starting to be punished.
In the periphery of our cities, the vast black and poor youth suffers of abuse of authority daily; massive imprisonment; hundreds of thousands of preventive and temporary detentions without trial; generalized violation of domestic privacy without order; illicit proofs; hacked phones; disrespect and even physical aggression to the lawyers of social and popular movements. Besides, of course, torture and death: there is a massive genocide of the black, poor youth. The criminalization of activists has been liberated, as much as the violence by the Military Police. All of this grew exponentially over the last 14 years, and the laws of deputies and senators, approved by all the governments (PT-PMDB-PSDB), did nothing but to increase the criminalization and abuse of authority against the poor, the black and the activists.
Evidently, no one should defend the removal of the right of self-defense, nor any other measure like this. And among the measures presented by the MPF there are at least four authoritarian measures that should be voided, such as: 1) the restriction, or nearly elimination, of the Habeas Corpus, what violates the right of defense, the presumption of innocence and the even the preventive resource of right to freedom when someone is unfairly accused [and detained]; 2) the possibility of obtaining illicit and illegal proofs “as long as it in good faith” (ultimately, it could justify the torture, for example); 3) to perform integrity tests to evaluate the level of honesty of the officials; 4) the liberation of preventive prisons without trial (in a country in which 45% of the prison population of almost 700 thousands were already imprisoned without trial).
The Chamber, however, approved modifications to the measures against corruption that go far beyond selectivity, excesses or abuse of authority regarding the MPF and Lava Jato, because they are actually seeking to guarantee the impunity of the corrupt ones.
No Trust In The Judiciary Nor The MPF!
The workers and the population are celebrating the prison of Cunha, Cabral, Marcelo Odebrecht and other corrupt ones. But it is still not enough.
It is also necessary to investigate and punish so many others that [the ones responsible by] the Lava Jato pretend not to exist, starting by Temer himself and following by great figures of the PSDB. The firms of the corruptors must be expropriated, nationalized and put under workers’ control instead of remaining in hands of their corrupt owners, allowing them to sign contracts with the State when these firms dismissed thousands of workers, many times even without compensation.
‘The Odebrecht’[5], for example, profited around R$17 billions [US$ 4,92 thousand millions] in 2003, and pulled to R$107 billions [US$ 30,99 thousand millions] in 2014, obtaining contracts through bribery and over-billed works. So how can Odebrecht pay a fine of only R$6,7 billions [US$ 1,7 thousand millions], put a note in the paper apologizing and then make an indulgence agreement that allows it to continue operating and driving State works? And how come the owner of Odebrecht, currently detained, has a sentence of 30 years but will stay imprisoned only 2 and half years, and serve the sentence in his mansion [house arrest]?
We defend the prison in jail (not in a mansion) and the seizure of goods of all the corrupt ones. This means the expropriation of Odebrecht, for example, and the nationalization without compensation, under workers’ control.
Just like we cannot trust this Congress and government, we cannot trust the Judiciary and the MPF either, as they are equally corrupt. Who forgot the scandal of Judge Lalau and the TRT [Regional Work Tribunal] of São Paulo?[6] There are not few cases of sell of sentences and decisions by judges and magistrates. Besides, of course, the millionaire salaries, of R$100 (US$ 28,900) or more, much above the ceiling (a form of corruption) of many judges who now take R$11 billions (US$ 3,18 thousand millions) a year of the state coffers, almost an entire CMPF [Provisional Contribution Over Financial Transactions].
In front of this, we warn the working class to trust their own independent mobilization and to not trust the government, Congress or justice of the rich ones.
Something else: there is people defending, instead of a democracy of the rich, a military dictatorship. But the dictatorship was not less corrupt; actually, the corruption could not even be denounced as it was forbidden to express opinions under it, and even more to demonstrate: whomever tried to was imprisoned or tortured. So, Dictatorship Never Again!
The solution lays on the workers’ organization and mobilization, as it is necessary to confront bankers, great businessmen, corrupt ones and corruptors. This is a corrupt system of the rich and powerful ones, and we need a system in which the workers and the people rule directly, through popular councils.
Neither The Former PT Government, Nor Temer/PSDB Represent Us!
PT, PMDB and PSDB are together in this move for the impunity of the corrupt ones and the corruptors, despite some of them are in the government and others in the parliamentary opposition, and disputing different sectors in views of the 2018 election (if the governments manages to reach there).
There is a general discontent with the crisis, the attacks to the workers through the PEC of the ceilings, the unemployment and reforms. It is necessary to make possible the construction of a General Strike, with demonstrations capable of defeating the government, put the corrupt ones and corruptors in jail and defeat the reforms.
Workers, proletarians and unemployed ones, the periphery, the popular sectors and the youth occupying schools, and even great part of the middle sectors that went on the streets against the corruption, all should unify. There could and must be a unified struggle on the following demands: Against The Corruption, In Defense Of Prison For The Corrupt Ones And Corruptors, Out With Temer And Out With All Of Them, To Overthrow The PEC 55 And The Social Security Reform, In Defense Of Our Jobs, Health And Education.
What happens is that the leaders linked to PSDB, on one side, and the ones linked to the “Broad Front” (Front People Without Fear and Front Popular Brazil) on the other, do not want to unify the struggle, as they do not want Temer out, and they want to keep an electoral polarization foreseeing the 2018 election.
Certainly, from the point of view of the bases, most of the ones that might go to the demonstration of December 4[7], besides demanding the end of the corruption should also defend No To The PEC Of The Ceilings, as much as Out With Temer And Out With All Of Them. Many of them [the bases] agreed with this, as seen through the social networks. But the groups calling the demonstration, like the MBL, that pretends to be non-party (but is actually linked to the PSDB), defend the PEC 55, Temer’s turn and even the impunity of the corrupt ones of the PSDB, with whom they have connections. The Vem Pra Rua [Come To The Streets] movement is another group with liberal ideology (that defends the same proposals as the PSDB). The latest, however, in a first moment agreed with a unitary demonstration in favour of punishment for the corrupt ones and even defending Out With Temer, but later, “bombed” by the MBL, retracted and declared its support to the PEC and Temer. The people that could go on the streets is being called to a demonstration against the corruption and does not know these groups that claim to be representing them defend the PEC and the government. How many lose individuals would go to the streets to defend the PEC and Temer?
If it becomes clear for most of the sectors mobilizing that these events are in defense of Temer, the protests will empty more and more.
On the other hand, we have the “Front People Without Fear” and “Front Popular Brazil”, together with a series of leftist groups which, in fact, do not defend jail for all the corrupt ones and corruptors, as they claim the “corruption” is a right-wing flag, so they peacefully align with Renan Calheiros and others of the same kind, with which the PT ruled until some time ago.
They criticize the base of the middle sectors that, against the corruption, start to raise against Temer and most of the Congress. Instead of putting themselves at the vanguard of the struggle to imprison all the corrupt ones and call the base to align with the workers and adopt the defense of End of PEC 55, Out With Temer and other workers’ flags, they confuse the base with the leading groups and leave those sectors to be disputed by liberal groups and even the MPF.
Once more, two bourgeois leaderships and fields try to polarize the streets and the country as a whole through the speech (although they are together in the Congress looking for impunity). On one side, the PT and its bourgeois allies, like Ciro Gomes[8] and others (now in the opposition), and on the other the PSDB and pro-govern field falsely polarizing, as they actually have no difference regarding Temer, as much as regarding the corruption: not one field nor the other want Temer out, and all of them are working for the impunity regarding Lava Jato.
Deep down, they have the common strategy of disputing the election of 2018.
The workers and the youth must strengthen the construction of a class field, independent from the government, the PMDB, the PSDB, the DEM, but also independent of the PT and the Front Popular Brazil, to unify the struggle against the corruption, against the reforms, the government and the Congress.
It Is Time For The General Strike
It is necessary to call for a General Strike with demonstrations, as the CSP-Conlutas is proposing, to stop this situation, imprison the corrupt ones and corruptors, to put Temer out, and all of them, but also to defeat the reforms to guarantee jobs, health, education, transportation, housing and security.
The demonstrations need to be unified instead of coordinated serving electoral interests, be them of the political front in defense of PT and the former Dilma’s government or be them of the PSDB and liberal sectors.
The Federations, on their side, must define a unitarian date to call a General Strike for the whole country, in front of the proposal of the Social Security reform and against the PEC 55, in defense of our jobs, health and education.
The Rich And Corrupt Ones Must Pay For The Crisis
It is possible to take the country and states out of the crisis, making the rich and corrupt ones to pay for it instead of the workers and the poorest sectors of the population, like the government wants to do.
For that, it is necessary to have an alternative economic program of the workers, to guarantee the following measures: 1) Auditing and suspension of the payment of the debt to bankers (a legalized robbery); 2) End of the Businessmen Subsidy; 3) Prison and seizure of goods of all the corrupt ones and corruptors, with expropriation and nationalization of all the companies involved in corruption, under workers’ control through the base. With this, there will be resources to invest in infrastructure, guarantee jobs, health, education and other social needs; 4) End of the Fiscal Responsibility Law, that privileges a bunch of bankers, to impose a Social Responsibility law instead, to give priority to education, health, basic sanitation, housing, public transportation and the environment; 5) End of privileges and luxury of the politicians: salary equal to a professor or factory worker.
We can, trough the mobilization, make the workers, the youth and popular sectors to govern from below, through popular councils, so we can then guarantee a society without exploited and exploiters, without corrupt ones and corruptors, and without oppression.
[1] Former president of the Brazilian Senate, with suspension in debate since December 5 for involvement in the Lava Jato money laundry scandal.
[2] President of the Chamber of Deputies and PSDB Senator, respectively.
[3] Expression that means “all the way”, with no hesitation.
[4] Argument in response to the left-wing tendencies that accuse us of “following the game of the right-wing” by supporting real anti-corruption measures and denouncing the false polarization of both bourgeois sectors.
[5] Popular way of calling the illegal business of Marcelo Odebrecht.
[6] Diversion of resources by the Judge Nicolau dos Santos Neto, from 1994 to 1998, for the construction of the TRT.
[7] Demonstration called by the MBL and Vem Pra Rua movements, against the corruption but through the right-wing. The article was originally written before December 4th, thus the tense is conditional.
[8] Governor of Ceara State, by the PMDB.
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Tranlation: Sofia Ballack.
