Ex-guerrilla poised to take over from Brazil's Lula

[The Vegan Marxist]

Ex-guerrilla poised to take over from Brazil's Lula
by Marc Burleigh – Fri Oct 1

SAO PAULO (AFP) – Brazil's 135 million voters appeared poised to elect Dilma Rousseff, a former Marxist guerrilla turned career civil servant, as their first woman president in elections Sunday.

Rousseff, 62, held a dominating lead over her rival in all the polls, suggesting she will take over next year from her mentor and former boss, outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The only question mark over Sunday's vote is whether she will win by a big enough margin to avoid the need for a runoff round October 31.

With campaigning officially suspended two days before the elections -- which will also select federal and state legislators, governors and much of the senate -- Rousseff's competitors have little chance to make up ground.

Jose Serra, Sao Paulo's former state governor, is running a distant second, at least 20 points behind Rousseff, who is credited with 47 to 50 percent of voter intentions.

Marina Silva, a former environment minister, is the only other figure to make a mark in the nine-strong field vying for the presidency, but her role is limited to siphoning some votes away from Rousseff.

Rousseff, who underwent plastic surgery and a cosmetic makeover for her campaign, was virtually unknown to most Brazilians before Lula thrust her into the spotlight as his anointed heir.

Though she shares none of Lula's charisma and warmth, his support alone has been enough to win over voters, especially poorer ones who have benefited from eight years of Lula's welfare largesse.

Despite time spent as Lula's energy minister and then chief minister, little is known about how Rousseff thinks beyond her oft-repeated promises to continue her mentor's policies.

What is more commonly raised is her extraordinary past 40 years ago, during her participation in a violent, Marxist underground movement seeking to overthrow Brazil's then-military dictatorship.

That activity lead to her arrest in 1970 and three years behind bars being subjected to torture before being released.

While she has established her moderate credentials through her years in Lula's center-left administration, she has given indications that she would favor greater state involvement in Brazil's booming economy.

But by and large, business leaders seem unconcerned over any incoming government changing course.

"From the speeches from the presidential candidates -- from Dilma (Rousseff), from (Jose) Serra, from Marina (Silva) -- there seems no plan from any of their economic teams to interfere with the basics of the Brazilian economy," Edemir Pinto, the chief executive of Sao Paulo's stock exchange told AFP.

And Brazil's new president will face some challenges more pressing than starting any wider reforms.

"We have two important events here soon: the World Cup and the Olympics, which will require heavy investment in infrastructure -- airports, public transport, roads," said Ricardo Luiz Mendes Ribeiro, a political analyst at MCM Consultoria.

Abroad, a president Dilma was seen as likely to continue Lula's diplomatic strategy of being friendly with all nations, including South American neighbors such as Venezuela and Bolivia that strike a more radical, anti-US line.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101001/wl_afp/brazilvote;_ylt=AoyaFaI3kNEywHeFzYR5dtm3IxIF;_ylu= X3oDMTJpcG1tcjgyBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMTAwMS9icmF6aW x2b3RlBHBvcwMyNgRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9s aXN0BHNsawNleC1ndWVycmlsbGE-

What's everyone's thoughts on this?

[Crux]

It wouldn't be the first time an ex-guerilla presided over a neoliberal regime.

Nem Serra, Dilma ou Marina – por uma verdadeira alternativa dos trabalhadores

Vote Plínio e PSOL 50!

[Roach]

One must be very naive if he thinks that Dilma is anyway a Socialist.


Nem Serra, Dilma ou Marina – por uma verdadeira alternativa dos trabalhadores

Vote Plínio e PSOL 50!

I don't think that Plínio is as dedicated to Trotskyism as the average PSOL militant.Besides his electoral base is almost entirely made by stundents.

[The Vegan Marxist]

One must be very naive if he thinks that Dilma is anyway a Socialist.



I don't think that Plínio is as dedicated to Trotskyism as the average PSOL militant.Besides his electoral base is almost entirely made by stundents.

Well I'm making no assumptions 'til I get plenty more info on her, but why do you think this exactly?

[Crux]

Well I'm making no assumptions 'til I get plenty more info on her, but why do you think this exactly?
Because she is the chosen successor of Lula?

Roach: Then how come there are two major radical unions affiliated to P-Sol? And what about the Landless Movement? Plinio is on the left of P-sol and I support him.

[Roach]

Well I'm making no assumptions 'til I get plenty more info on her, but why do you think this exactly?

What makes YOU think that she will be an Brazilian Chavéz, Lula doesn't fit neither the definition of Social-Democrat neither he is an Anti-Imperialist Leader [Brazil has an leading role on the military occupation of Haiti]
I don't have any sources in the Internet in English, but after watching Dilma Roussef always saying 3 times a day on TV for the last 2 or 3 months that she will not change anything and that she will ''continue Lula's legacy'' I'm pretty much certain that she will realy not change anything.

It makes remember about an intervew of Luis Carlos Prestes who lead an communist uprising in 1935, the interview was during Lula's party rise on Brazilian politics.He said that ''Lula is certainly better than the other candidates,but he is not a communist, and he will never be one no matter how it may look like''.

[The Vegan Marxist]

What makes YOU think that she will be an Brazilian Chavéz, Lula doesn't fit neither the definition of Social-Democrat neither he is an Anti-Imperialist Leader [Brazil has an leading role on the military occupation of Haiti]
I don't have any sources in the Internet in English, but after watching Dilma Roussef always saying 3 times a day on TV for the last 2 or 3 months that she will not change anything and that she will ''continue Lula's legacy'' I'm pretty much certain that she will realy not change anything.

It makes remember about an intervew of Luis Carlos Prestes who lead an communist uprising in 1935, the interview was during Lula's party rise on Brazilian politics.He said that ''Lula is certainly better than the other candidates,but he is not a communist, and he will never be one no matter how it may look like''.

I'm not saying that I think such. I'm trying to gain info out of all this in order to make an assumption.

[RadioRaheem84]

Why are people (not here but elsewhere) swooning over Lula, as if he is anywhere near Chavez? Lula gets praise from the mainstream media for being the great collaborator on public and private initiatives. It's ridiculous.

Just because this person was a former Marxist guerilla it doesn't mean he or she is still serving our class interests.

If anything they wouldn't even be considered a replacement.

[Roach]

Roach: Then how come there are two major radical unions affiliated to P-Sol? And what about the Landless Movement? Plinio is on the left of P-sol and I support him.

Lula before being elected always had the support of the landless movement,the major radical unions,ex-guerrilas,etc.He made speeches talking about how ''Brazil was unable to advance thanks to its archaic capitalist system'' Plinio could be doing the same.

The reason that makes me exagerate a little bit on the anti-Lula posts is that years before taking power he looked more radical than Chavéz.

[RadioRaheem84]

Yes, this is true. I thought of Lula as someone who came from the lowest sectors of the working class; no education, working class life, labor union leader, etc.

A real working man's story. The establishment was really worried about a guy like him and the movement he helped stir.

But as it turns out, he became the Golden Boy of how to do things in Latin America along with Michelle Bachelet of Chile (who also came from a radical Family persecuted by Pinochet!).

Then Brazil became part of the BRIC (Brazi, Russia, India, China) nations that are loved by investors around the world.

He was featured on TIME Mag as the man who brought "real" change to Brazil, i.e. let investors dump their foreign capital while providing some meager social reforms and re-negotiating with the World Bank and IMF. That's about the extent of his soc dem credentials.

We cannot expect for him to just turn around and appoint a real deal Marxist as his successor. It wouldn't happen.

[Kiev Communard]

Lula and the PT are just typical social-democrats. The only thing that makes this party seem "left-wing" is the fact that all the other social-democratic parties throughout the world are even more right wing than it is.

[RadioRaheem84]

Yes, political parties have shifted so far to the right in the last decade that anyone moving an inch or two to the left is considered "far to the left socialist!11 Everyone watch out for Stalinism!

[BrazilianTrotskyist]

I'm a militant of PSOL, so I will try to speak a little about it.
Lula was the biggest leader of the workers movement in Brazil in the 20th century. In the 80's he lead a strike of metalworkers of about 100.000 workers in São Paulo and after that the PT was founded. In PT was a lot of organizations coming from clandestinity, some form guerrillas groups, trotskyists groups, the Teologia da Libertação (Liberation's Teology in english? A very strong leftist movement in the bases of the catholic church in Latin America). Lula was never a socialist. When asked if he was communist, usually he answered "I'm a metalworker". During the 90's the majority of PT was turning to the right also. So Lula implemented the same liberal policies of his antecessor, with the great advantage for the capitalists of him having a big legitimacy coming from the workers movement and having the majority of the unions on his hands.

One of his central policies is the "bolsa família" that is a kind of pension of the government to the most poors. The government is atacking the workers rights and more than 40 million of workers receives about 50 dollars per child. While the governments policies made a lot of workers being out of any formal work, with the traditional rights, they receive this pension. So it's a great tactical of demobilization and putting the workers on their knees. So the most desperates layers votes on government. The government spends about 8 billion (US$ 4 bi) of reais on "bolsa família" and about 380 billion (US$180 billion) per year for the bankers with the internal and external debts.

Dilma was a former Marxist, and them she becomes a little nationalist after the dictatorship, supporting the PDT and Brizola, a traditional "left-bourguois" nationalist. Only in the 2000's that she came to PT invited by Lula and became minister. She has no history with the workers movement after the 70's.
Her program is so leftwinger as the French Socialist Party (Jospin was a trotskyist, remember?). She is only the continuity of the Lula's liberal policies and she will do a new pensioners reform probably next year.

In this elections PSOL is standing Plinio de Arruda. No, he is not a trotskyist. He is a socialist that is very close to the landless movements and the Teologia da Libertação. During this elections Plinio is saying clearly agains the main candidates and presenting a socialist program, proposing the nationalization of the health and educational systens, and of the strategic companies. The redution of the workday hours without the redution of wages. The distribution of productives and non-productives lands to the poor peasants, etc. He is the only candidate that on the TV's debate says that Dilma, Serra and Marina are candidates of the capitalists and he want to present an alternative to the workers. And far from having a electoral base majority of students, there is a lot of union militants supporting him and social movements activists. He is very recognized in the streets and is about 1% in the polls, what in the actual circunstances is very respectable.

[Kiev Communard]

I'm a militant of PSOL, so I will try to speak a little about it.
Lula was the biggest leader of the workers movement in Brazil in the 20th century. In the 80's he lead a strike of metalworkers of about 100.000 workers in São Paulo and after that the PT was founded. In PT was a lot of organizations coming from clandestinity, some form guerrillas groups, trotskyists groups, the Teologia da Libertação (Liberation's Teology in english? A very strong leftist movement in the bases of the catholic church in Latin America). Lula was never a socialist. When asked if he was communist, usually he answered "I'm a metalworker". During the 90's the majority of PT was turning to the right also. So Lula implemented the same liberal policies of his antecessor, with the great advantage for the capitalists of him having a big legitimacy coming from the workers movement and having the majority of the unions on his hands.

One of his central policies is the "bolsa família" that is a kind of pension of the government to the most poors. The government is atacking the workers rights and more than 40 million of workers receives about 50 dollars per child. While the governments policies made a lot of workers being out of any formal work, with the traditional rights, they receive this pension. So it's a great tactical of demobilization and putting the workers on their knees. So the most desperates layers votes on government. The government spends about 8 billion (US$ 4 bi) of reais on "bolsa família" and about 380 billion (US$180 billion) per year for the bankers with the internal and external debts.

Dilma was a former Marxist, and them she becomes a little nationalist after the dictatorship, supporting the PDT and Brizola, a traditional "left-bourguois" nationalist. Only in the 2000's that she came to PT invited by Lula and became minister. She has no history with the workers movement after the 70's.
Her program is so leftwinger as the French Socialist Party (Jospin was a trotskyist, remember?). She is only the continuity of the Lula's liberal policies and she will do a new pensioners reform probably next year.

In this elections PSOL is standing Plinio de Arruda. No, he is not a trotskyist. He is a socialist that is very close to the landless movements and the Teologia da Libertação. During this elections Plinio is saying clearly agains the main candidates and presenting a socialist program, proposing the nationalization of the health and educational systens, and of the strategic companies. The redution of the workday hours without the redution of wages. The distribution of productives and non-productives lands to the poor peasants, etc. He is the only candidate that on the TV's debate says that Dilma, Serra and Marina are candidates of the capitalists and he want to present an alternative to the workers. And far from having a electoral base majority of students, there is a lot of union militants supporting him and social movements activists. He is very recognized in the streets and is about 1% in the polls, what in the actual circunstances is very respectable.


Thank you for valuable information. If I am not mistaken, the political forces to the left of the PT (P-SOL, PSTU and PCB) used to have far more numerous following than now, did not they (about 6.5 million votes, or 6,85% of electorate back in 2006)? And what happened to all these followers? Did they turn to the PT?

[The Red Next Door]

Yes, this is true. I thought of Lula as someone who came from the lowest sectors of the working class; no education, working class life, labor union leader, etc.

A real working man's story. The establishment was really worried about a guy like him and the movement he helped stir.

But as it turns out, he became the Golden Boy of how to do things in Latin America along with Michelle Bachelet of Chile (who also came from a radical Family persecuted by Pinochet!).

Then Brazil became part of the BRIC (Brazi, Russia, India, China) nations that are loved by investors around the world.

He was featured on TIME Mag as the man who brought "real" change to Brazil, i.e. let investors dump their foreign capital while providing some meager social reforms and re-negotiating with the World Bank and IMF. That's about the extent of his soc dem credentials.

We cannot expect for him to just turn around and appoint a real deal Marxist as his successor. It wouldn't happen.

Does this remind you of someone who also came from a working background and promise to bring progressive change to a nation; that is also in the Americas?

[The Red Next Door]

In restropect, Lula is just the Brazilian version of Barack Obama; promise something new but does the same BS as the last person.

[RadioRaheem84]

Does this remind you of someone who also came from a working background and promise to bring progressive change to a nation; that is also in the Americas?

Do you mean Chavez?

Chavez is the only real progressive in the nation.

[Crux]

Thank you for valuable information. If I am not mistaken, the political forces to the left of the PT (P-SOL, PSTU and PCB) used to have far more numerous following than now, did not they (about 6.5 million votes, or 6,85% of electorate back in 2006)? And what happened to all these followers? Did they turn to the PT?
Part of the answer:

PSOL: A congress of crisis and uncertain future

www.socialistworld.net, 07/09/2009
website of the committee for a workers' international, CWI
Fighting to make PSOL ready to face the challenges of the historical moment
André Ferrari, Socialism, revolution and Liberty (CWI in Brazil) and member of PSOL National Board
The second congress of the Party for Socialism and Liberty (PSOL) took place in São Paulo on 21-23 August, against a background of widespread uncertainty about the process of re-composition of the socialist left in Brazil. Although the congress elected a leadership with a different composition, it failed to give answers to the most important questions facing millions of Brazilian workers and youth.



In the grips of an internal crisis that came close to endangering the unity of the party, (triggered by a split in the camp that has led the party since its first congress in 2007) the congress didn’t decide on its position regarding the important 2010 elections. Neither did it draw the most important lessons from the process that led to such a crisis developing.
PSOL was born in 2004, in order to gather together the socialist left that didn’t “sell out or surrender”, to use an expression often repeated by the main public figure of the party, the ex-senator Heloísa Helena. After obtaining an important social base in the more radical trade unions and social movements in struggle against the neoliberal policies of Lula’s government, (like the pension counter-reform of 2003), the party played an important role in the general election of 2006. On that occasion, PSOL managed to show to broad layers that the left had not died with the PT (Workers’ Party) after Lula’s government had embraced big business.
With more than 6.5 million votes (almost 7%), Heloísa Helena, even with an programme more moderate than that of the party as a whole, managed to pose as an alternative to the false polarisation between the traditional right, represented by the PSDB (Party of the Brazilian Social Democracy), and the new right, represented by the PT. The same challenge remains for the 2010 election. However, this time Heloísa Helena probably won’t stand and the party is in a dilemma regarding what to do in 2010.
2010 election

In the run up to 2010, Lula’s government is trying to build support for the minister Dilma Rousseff, basing itself on the claim that the economic crises had little effect on Brazil. The traditional right (PSDB) is trying to use the fact that Lula cannot stand again to attempt to get the governor of São Paulo, José Serra, elected.



In this, the first presidential election since the end of the military regime without Lula standing, the electoral scene is still very uncertain. Lula maintains high approval ratings because of the rapid economic growth of the last years and the expectation that the country will succeed in avoiding the crisis through an enormous injection of state funds into the economy. But the possibility of transferring the support for Lula to a lesser-known candidate like Dilma, who lacks Lula’s ‘charisma’, is not automatic or easy.



Even if the government succeeds, through the injection of hundreds of billions of reals of public money, in containing the worst effects of the recession, avoiding a worsening of the crisis until the elections, it won’t be able to assure good conditions for the next government. Both Dilma Rousseff and José Serra will represent much weaker governments than the current one and will be forced to implement austerity measures to rein in the fiscal deficit. This means they would have to confront the working class, leading inevitably to political and economic instability.
Even sections of the government acknowledge that there is much space for an alternative to the left of the PT and PSDB. The ex-minister, Ciro Gomes, (of the misnamed Brazilian Socialist Pary, PSB) has argued in favour of him being the government’s candidate, as he supposedly has a more left-wing profile than Dilma and could open up a dialogue with the voters that could be attracted to Heloísa Helena, for example.
However, the big new factor in the Lula ‘succession’ dispute is the emergence of the candidacy of Marina Silva, also an ex-minister (environment) and currently a senator, who recently broke with the PT and joined the Green Party (PV). Her decision to break with PT was aided by the deep crises in the Senate, with corruption scandals involving several senators and, mainly, the President of the Senate and former President of Brazil, José Sarney (PMDB), who has the unconditional support of Lula and the PT’s senators. The attrition caused by this support for Sarney, hated by the public, led to the desertion of yet another senator, Flávio Arns, who also left PT.



Marina Silva, as a candidate for the presidency, will explicitly try to occupy the space left by Heloísa Helena. Her political and personal profile resembles Heloísa’s. At the same time, she tries not to pose as a candidate of the opposition. Her life story, coming from a poor background in the Amazonian region, who fought together with the well-known trade union and environmental activist Chico Mendes (assassinated by land owners in 1988), reminds one of Lula’s own history and is attractive to layers that sympathise with the government.



At the same time, Marina criticises (even if modestly) the government’s lack of commitment on environmental issues, in particular the preservation of the Amazon. Recently, the government approved a law that stimulates the taking of land in the Amazon by agri-business and those who illegally take land, which will lead to further devastation of the rain forest. In this, she tries to get rid of the burden of having been member of the government and open up a dialogue with more critical voters.



The Green Party, which she is joining, has no ideological commitment to protecting the environment. It is just another political label in the Brazilian electoral market, used by career politicians of all kinds. The party gives support to Lula’s government and gets its share of the privileges and posts in the state apparatus, but supports governors and politicians of the right, as in São Paulo, where they support the state governor, José Serra, (PSDB) and the mayor of the capital, Gilberto Kassab (of the explicitly right-wing and neoliberal “Democrats”).
The candidature of Marina Silva will not represent any coherent alternative, due to her commitment to Lula’s policies and her refusal to oppose even the traditional parties of the right. Even her environmental policies don’t escape from the logic of the market and of capitalism. Even so, her candidacy could appear as something new on the electoral scene of 2010 and attract a layer of those disillusioned with the present choice of candidates, especially in the absence of Heloísa Helena.
PSOL and the elections

The PSOL congress didn’t decide anything regarding the 2010 elections. Instead, an Electoral Conference will be held in October to make the main decisions. The justification for this is the attempt to convince Heloísa Helena to stand again. Her plans are to stand for the Senate as a representative of her state (Alagoas) and not for president.
By postponing this decision, the groupings that led and lead the party avoided drawing a balance sheet of their policies, including in 2008, making alliances with parties who support the government or have a bourgeois social base, for the first time. A discussion about the fact that the party accepted financial support from big private companies, amongst them, the big multinational steel company of Brazilian origin (Gerdau), for its election campaign in the city of Porto Alegre, was also avoided.
All the proposals for 2010 from the Socialist Resistance bloc (a bloc comprising LSR - CWI in Brazil - and three other currents) were deferred for later discussion.



Our congress document, with the headline, “Put socialism on the agenda! Make PSOL ready for the historical moment!”, defended a Left Front for the election, only including parties allied with the struggles of the working class (like the PSTU and PCB), with an anti-capitalist and socialist platform, as an alternative to the crisis and with a election campaign rooted in the social movements and workers’ struggles, with conscious financial support from workers.



In spite of the divisions within the former majority in the party leadership, both sides defend a policy of broad political alliances that include parties of the base of Lula’s government and opportunist parties with bourgeois social bases.



No current in the party admitted the possibility of a formal alliance between PSOL and the Green Party (PV) of Marina Silva, but the issue was part of the political debate. If PSOL doesn’t present an own candidate, it will lose support and this could lead to disillusionment amongst layers searching for an alternative to the PT. Marina Silva, in spite of her ambiguous stand, could end up occupying part of this space and reducing drastically the available support for a coherent left opposition.
In a situation where PSOL is standing no candidate, parts of the party could end up conducting electoral campaigns that are ambiguous in relation to Marina Silva, or even make informal alliances, not to mention the possibility of formal alliances with the PV in the states.
For this reason, the best candidate for the 2010 election is Heloísa Helena. However, Heloisa, who has been on between 10% and 24% in opinion polls, depending on different scenarios and opponents, makes it clear that she does not intend to stand against Marina Silva and only aims to regain her mandate in the Senate.



There is an impasse on the issue of an alternative candidate. There is the possibility that support for Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, an old left activist who came from the Catholic left and that has a more radical position today, could grow as an alternative. Plínio has been aligned with the left in PSOL in the last period and because of that, meets with resistance internally, but could gain if sections to the right of PSOL think that they can partially contain his more left leaning posture.
PSOL and the reorganisation of the trade union and social movements

One of the few votes that took place, in spite of the chaos of the congress, was about the process of reorganisation of the trade unions and social movements taking place in Brazil. With the coming to power of Lula, the CUT (national trade union centre), founded in 1983 during the mass movements against the military regime, was transformed into a conveyor belt for government policies. From that moment, new initiatives to coordinate fighting trade unionism emerged.



The National Co-ordination of Struggle (Conlutas) was founded in 2004 by sections of the left of the trade union and popular movements, including the student movement, in particular those with links to the PSTU (United Socialist Workers’ Party), but also PSOL, and became an alternative to CUT in 2006. Also in 2006, Intersindical emerged, uniting sections of the trade union movement (but no popular movements) linked to PSOL, but also others that were late in breaking links with the CUT.
In its first congress in 2007, even with strong disagreement and internal debate, PSOL passed a resolution, later confirmed by its Trade Union Conference, calling for the formation of a new TU federation, uniting Conlutas and Intersindical. This process of unification gained momentum with the effects of the capitalist crisis and the attacks on workers. Regional seminars and a national seminar are scheduled between September and November and a National Conference to found a new united federation, including fighting sections of the trade union movement, could take place next year.



The main debate today about this process is the character of this new federation. Some groups, especially Intersindical, argue that it should be exclusively made up of trade unions. On the other hand, the majority of Conlutas, including the Bloc of Socialist Resistance (which also operates within Conlutas), argue that it organises, alongside trade unions, workers organised in popular movements, like the homeless, landless, anti-racism and gender oppression movements, but also student movements, with a working class orientation.



The resolution passed at the second congress of PSOL reaffirms the need for a new federation, although it has already decided in favour of one exclusively made up of trade unions. However, a profound debate will take place on this issue, so this is only the beginning. Behind this attitude lies a desire to prepare for a dispute with the PSTU within the new federation, which will not be a solid basis for a new organisation that will be created.



The Socialist Resistance bloc argued at the congress for a resolution that defended the foundation of a new ‘Centre’ and at the same time, opened the character of the new Centre up for debate, without deciding on a stance beforehand. However, only a minority supported this. Anyhow, the debate will take place within the movement, and the bloc will continue to defend its position in favour of organising the working class and its allies in a broad sense, and with a class based, democratic and socialist perspective.
Internal dispute within the party

The two main currents that formed the majority camp in the party after the first Congress were MES (Socialist Left Movement), led by the federal deputy (MP) Luciana Genro, one of the “radicals” expelled from the PT for voting against the pension reforms of the government in 2003, and APS (Socialist Popular Action), of the federal deputy Ivan Valente, who entered the party in 2005, together with other sections that came from the PT.
Both currents were responsible for the policy of alliances with parties supporting Lula’s government and bourgeois parties in 2008. MES presented Luciana Genro as candidate for mayor in Porto Alegre (capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul) in alliance with the Green Party, which in the previous election, had been in coalition with the party that supported the military regime. APS put forward the candidate for vice mayor of Macapá (capital of Amapá in the Amazonian region), in an alliance led by the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party, which supports Lula and in some states supports the traditional right). Besides these cases, there were more than 20 cities with the same type of alliances.



Both currents were also responsible for the adoption of the rules for the second Congress, in opposition to the original concept of PSOL as a party with an active base, upon which PSOL was founded. To participate in the Congress, it was enough to have signed a membership form in time and come to a meeting to vote for a delegate. There was no requirement to pay membership fees or congress fees (the congress fees ended up being indirectly paid by the currents or parliamentary mandates), to take part in a branch meeting or even participate in any real discussion about the different congress documents presented. Consequently, about 11,000 participated in the congress process.



However, if the figures inflated, there was a narrow funnel to the top. The party branches couldn’t elect delegates directly to the National Congress. The delegates were to be elected in state congresses, which discouraged the existence of branches. In total 373 delegates participated in the second Congress, half the number of the first Congress.
In spite of the political unity between those two currents, there was always a dispute over who would control the party. The differences began to appear when MES, who negate the importance of the international crisis and pose the issue of corruption as the main focus of the intervention of the party, and which tried in a totally non-political manner recruit the Federal Police officer Protógenes Queiroz, who headed the operation that led to the imprisonment of one of the most hated Brazilian bankers.
Protógenes Queiroz supports Lula’s government and does not present himself as a socialist, in spite of having, after all the crises in PSOL, chosen to affiliate to PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil, which supports Lula’s government). If he had joined PSOL, this would interfered with the relationship of forces within the party. A good electoral result for Quieroz would have strengthened MES inside.



The risk of a loss of status by the biggest current, led MES to wage a virtual internal war in the period coming up to the congress. On the other hand, APS tried to create an atmosphere of unity between the other currents, including the left of the party, against MES. In the state congress in Rio Grande do Sul, for example, where MES is dominant, almost all currents (including part of the left), united in a slate where the only point of unity was the desire to defeat MES. The Socialist Resistance bloc (through Socialist Alternative, a group which participates in the bloc), which has an important base in the party and the trade union movement in the state, refused to adopt this position, and called on the left within the party to form a left slate, but ended up standing alone.



In the National Congress of PSOL, faced with the fact that it would lose its position as part of the majority, MES managed to unite its allies in a walkout from the congress, threatening a split in the party. To do that, they used as an excuse that the presidium of the congress and the president of the party, Heloísa Helena, had been disrespected by the women’s caucus of the party, which loudly demanded the right to defend the abortion rights as part of the programme of the party. The issue of abortion is extremely polarising within the party, as Heloísa Helena insists in putting forward an emphatic public position against abortion, although the party voted a resolution in favour of abortion rights at the first Congress.



During the night of Saturday 22 August) after a failed attempt to gather the National Executive, the party was virtually split into two wings and the different sections were already discussing the legal mechanisms to control the party name, finances, etc.



On Sunday morning, the plenary session of the Congress was held, without the participation of MES, it allies and Heloísa Helena. But, after a while, they returned to the Congress, after a commitment from APS, that even if they were in a majority with their allies, they would offer the presidency of the party to Heloísa Helena, even though she, at that moment, was explicitly on the side of MES.



In spite of this concession from APS, there was an extreme polarisation in the congress. One effect of this was that, of the three groups that composed the left slate in the first Congress, only two maintained that position. We, the Bloc of Socialist Resistance, composed a slate together with the Socialist Workers’ Current (CST, a section of UIT, an international of ‘Morenoite’ origin). The Socialism and Liberty Collective (CSOL, a split from PSTU-LIT) ended up joining the new majority camp together with APS, alleging that this would ensure a defeat of the MES.
The current called Enlace (that has members linked to the former Unified Secretariat of the Fourth International), was the most emphatic in defending unity with APS to make up a new majority.
The final result in the leadership election was that the new majority slate, including APS, Enlace, CSOL and others, got 48.9% of the votes. The slate with MES, Heloísa Helena and others got 40.8%. The slate composed by the Bloc of Socialist Resistance and CST got 10.2%.
PSOL and the recomposition of the Brazilian left

Compared with the first Congress, the left of the party ended up smaller, due to the adherence of CSOL to the new majority. In the first congress, the left slate got 23,6% of the votes, compared with 10,2% now. In spite of that, the party has not moved further to the right.
The reason for that is, firstly, the impact of the international crisis on the party. This forced sections of the party to assume clearer slogans of struggle, like the suspension of payment of the public debt and the nationalisation of banks and companies that implement mass sackings, and the renationalisation of state companies that had been privatised in the past.



Whoever becomes candidate for the party in 2010, those slogans will be much more present then in the 2006 election campaign, for example.
But, apart from the effects of the capitalist crisis on PSOL, the division of the majority camp forced different sections to try to move left, in relation to its adversaries. Even if it is not consistent, at least it served to freeze or at least turn more slowly the momentum towards the moderation of the party.



The new majority will continue to prioritise the electoral field, subordinating the intervention in the social movements. The difference is that APS tries to get better electoral results also using an organised rank-and-file in the social movements, in contrast to MES, who prefer to invest in public figures, “good at getting votes”, as a short cut, to gain parliamentary positions.



The damage to internal democracy and the concept of a party with an active rank-and-file, caused by the pre-congress process, will be difficult to reverse. In its fight against MES, APS was forced to raise some issues about internal democracy in the party, such as the need to make clear the rules about the proportional distribution of posts in the leadership of the party. But they will not get far. Their concept of a party became clear in the pre-congress period, when they used the same methods as MES.
The sector that lost the majority at the Congress, headed by MES, will tend to present itself as a public faction of the party, or “open opposition”, as they say. They work with the perspective that in 2010 they will manage to get Luciana Genro re-elected as federal deputy easily, and also count on Heloísa Helena as senator. On the other hand, APS could have much more difficulties in electing deputies if they cannot secure Heloísa Helena as president candidate.
This can lead to a conflict between the formal majority in the party leadership and the representatives in the parliament and main public figure, acting on their own, leading to a situation of permanent conflict and internal chaos. The perspectives for the Electoral Conference in October are not clear. Despite the decision to hold the Congress, it could be postponed and a new severe crisis is not ruled out.
The fact that the Congress almost fell apart and the level of tension in the internal relations point to an uncertain future for PSOL. During 2010, some kind of agreement will have to be made between the bigger currents. After all, they all need the party label for the elections. But what will happen after 2010?
Nevertheless, the Liberty, Socialism and Revolution (LSR – CWI in Brazil) and the Socialist Resistance bloc, came out strengthened from this process. In October, the Bloc will hold an important Seminar to discuss political strategy and the necessity of a more organic relationship between the groups composing the Bloc. This will help build a coherent left, both within PSOL and in the new TU centre that will be built.
PSOL suffers firstly because of the contradictions in consciousness and in the organised workers movement. If the crisis had a positive impact over the party, the lack of a qualitative leap in the level of struggle of the masses, even after the initial the major effects of the crisis, compounds the difficulties for the process of recomposition of the socialist left in Brazil.



Even so, PSOL is regarded by million of youth and workers as the only workers’ alternative. It is necessary for PSOL in the end of 2009 and during 2010 to work to accumulate forces together with the social movements, in the struggle against Lula’s government and the governments of the traditional right, and also in the electoral process, to create a strong political reference for the left. In a more favourable scenario, with a weaker government than Lula’s, with more difficulties in implementing its policies against the majority of the people, this resistance can lead to a new offensive by workers, with an anti-capitalist and socialist perspective.

[Kiev Communard]

Part of the answer:

PSOL: A congress of crisis and uncertain future

www.socialistworld.net, 07/09/2009
website of the committee for a workers' international, CWI
Fighting to make PSOL ready to face the challenges of the historical moment
André Ferrari, Socialism, revolution and Liberty (CWI in Brazil) and member of PSOL National Board
The second congress of the Party for Socialism and Liberty (PSOL) took place in São Paulo on 21-23 August, against a background of widespread uncertainty about the process of re-composition of the socialist left in Brazil. Although the congress elected a leadership with a different composition, it failed to give answers to the most important questions facing millions of Brazilian workers and youth.



In the grips of an internal crisis that came close to endangering the unity of the party, (triggered by a split in the camp that has led the party since its first congress in 2007) the congress didn’t decide on its position regarding the important 2010 elections. Neither did it draw the most important lessons from the process that led to such a crisis developing.
PSOL was born in 2004, in order to gather together the socialist left that didn’t “sell out or surrender”, to use an expression often repeated by the main public figure of the party, the ex-senator Heloísa Helena. After obtaining an important social base in the more radical trade unions and social movements in struggle against the neoliberal policies of Lula’s government, (like the pension counter-reform of 2003), the party played an important role in the general election of 2006. On that occasion, PSOL managed to show to broad layers that the left had not died with the PT (Workers’ Party) after Lula’s government had embraced big business.
With more than 6.5 million votes (almost 7%), Heloísa Helena, even with an programme more moderate than that of the party as a whole, managed to pose as an alternative to the false polarisation between the traditional right, represented by the PSDB (Party of the Brazilian Social Democracy), and the new right, represented by the PT. The same challenge remains for the 2010 election. However, this time Heloísa Helena probably won’t stand and the party is in a dilemma regarding what to do in 2010.
2010 election

In the run up to 2010, Lula’s government is trying to build support for the minister Dilma Rousseff, basing itself on the claim that the economic crises had little effect on Brazil. The traditional right (PSDB) is trying to use the fact that Lula cannot stand again to attempt to get the governor of São Paulo, José Serra, elected.



In this, the first presidential election since the end of the military regime without Lula standing, the electoral scene is still very uncertain. Lula maintains high approval ratings because of the rapid economic growth of the last years and the expectation that the country will succeed in avoiding the crisis through an enormous injection of state funds into the economy. But the possibility of transferring the support for Lula to a lesser-known candidate like Dilma, who lacks Lula’s ‘charisma’, is not automatic or easy.



Even if the government succeeds, through the injection of hundreds of billions of reals of public money, in containing the worst effects of the recession, avoiding a worsening of the crisis until the elections, it won’t be able to assure good conditions for the next government. Both Dilma Rousseff and José Serra will represent much weaker governments than the current one and will be forced to implement austerity measures to rein in the fiscal deficit. This means they would have to confront the working class, leading inevitably to political and economic instability.
Even sections of the government acknowledge that there is much space for an alternative to the left of the PT and PSDB. The ex-minister, Ciro Gomes, (of the misnamed Brazilian Socialist Pary, PSB) has argued in favour of him being the government’s candidate, as he supposedly has a more left-wing profile than Dilma and could open up a dialogue with the voters that could be attracted to Heloísa Helena, for example.
However, the big new factor in the Lula ‘succession’ dispute is the emergence of the candidacy of Marina Silva, also an ex-minister (environment) and currently a senator, who recently broke with the PT and joined the Green Party (PV). Her decision to break with PT was aided by the deep crises in the Senate, with corruption scandals involving several senators and, mainly, the President of the Senate and former President of Brazil, José Sarney (PMDB), who has the unconditional support of Lula and the PT’s senators. The attrition caused by this support for Sarney, hated by the public, led to the desertion of yet another senator, Flávio Arns, who also left PT.



Marina Silva, as a candidate for the presidency, will explicitly try to occupy the space left by Heloísa Helena. Her political and personal profile resembles Heloísa’s. At the same time, she tries not to pose as a candidate of the opposition. Her life story, coming from a poor background in the Amazonian region, who fought together with the well-known trade union and environmental activist Chico Mendes (assassinated by land owners in 1988), reminds one of Lula’s own history and is attractive to layers that sympathise with the government.



At the same time, Marina criticises (even if modestly) the government’s lack of commitment on environmental issues, in particular the preservation of the Amazon. Recently, the government approved a law that stimulates the taking of land in the Amazon by agri-business and those who illegally take land, which will lead to further devastation of the rain forest. In this, she tries to get rid of the burden of having been member of the government and open up a dialogue with more critical voters.



The Green Party, which she is joining, has no ideological commitment to protecting the environment. It is just another political label in the Brazilian electoral market, used by career politicians of all kinds. The party gives support to Lula’s government and gets its share of the privileges and posts in the state apparatus, but supports governors and politicians of the right, as in São Paulo, where they support the state governor, José Serra, (PSDB) and the mayor of the capital, Gilberto Kassab (of the explicitly right-wing and neoliberal “Democrats”).
The candidature of Marina Silva will not represent any coherent alternative, due to her commitment to Lula’s policies and her refusal to oppose even the traditional parties of the right. Even her environmental policies don’t escape from the logic of the market and of capitalism. Even so, her candidacy could appear as something new on the electoral scene of 2010 and attract a layer of those disillusioned with the present choice of candidates, especially in the absence of Heloísa Helena.
PSOL and the elections

The PSOL congress didn’t decide anything regarding the 2010 elections. Instead, an Electoral Conference will be held in October to make the main decisions. The justification for this is the attempt to convince Heloísa Helena to stand again. Her plans are to stand for the Senate as a representative of her state (Alagoas) and not for president.
By postponing this decision, the groupings that led and lead the party avoided drawing a balance sheet of their policies, including in 2008, making alliances with parties who support the government or have a bourgeois social base, for the first time. A discussion about the fact that the party accepted financial support from big private companies, amongst them, the big multinational steel company of Brazilian origin (Gerdau), for its election campaign in the city of Porto Alegre, was also avoided.
All the proposals for 2010 from the Socialist Resistance bloc (a bloc comprising LSR - CWI in Brazil - and three other currents) were deferred for later discussion.



Our congress document, with the headline, “Put socialism on the agenda! Make PSOL ready for the historical moment!”, defended a Left Front for the election, only including parties allied with the struggles of the working class (like the PSTU and PCB), with an anti-capitalist and socialist platform, as an alternative to the crisis and with a election campaign rooted in the social movements and workers’ struggles, with conscious financial support from workers.



In spite of the divisions within the former majority in the party leadership, both sides defend a policy of broad political alliances that include parties of the base of Lula’s government and opportunist parties with bourgeois social bases.



No current in the party admitted the possibility of a formal alliance between PSOL and the Green Party (PV) of Marina Silva, but the issue was part of the political debate. If PSOL doesn’t present an own candidate, it will lose support and this could lead to disillusionment amongst layers searching for an alternative to the PT. Marina Silva, in spite of her ambiguous stand, could end up occupying part of this space and reducing drastically the available support for a coherent left opposition.
In a situation where PSOL is standing no candidate, parts of the party could end up conducting electoral campaigns that are ambiguous in relation to Marina Silva, or even make informal alliances, not to mention the possibility of formal alliances with the PV in the states.
For this reason, the best candidate for the 2010 election is Heloísa Helena. However, Heloisa, who has been on between 10% and 24% in opinion polls, depending on different scenarios and opponents, makes it clear that she does not intend to stand against Marina Silva and only aims to regain her mandate in the Senate.



There is an impasse on the issue of an alternative candidate. There is the possibility that support for Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, an old left activist who came from the Catholic left and that has a more radical position today, could grow as an alternative. Plínio has been aligned with the left in PSOL in the last period and because of that, meets with resistance internally, but could gain if sections to the right of PSOL think that they can partially contain his more left leaning posture.
PSOL and the reorganisation of the trade union and social movements

One of the few votes that took place, in spite of the chaos of the congress, was about the process of reorganisation of the trade unions and social movements taking place in Brazil. With the coming to power of Lula, the CUT (national trade union centre), founded in 1983 during the mass movements against the military regime, was transformed into a conveyor belt for government policies. From that moment, new initiatives to coordinate fighting trade unionism emerged.



The National Co-ordination of Struggle (Conlutas) was founded in 2004 by sections of the left of the trade union and popular movements, including the student movement, in particular those with links to the PSTU (United Socialist Workers’ Party), but also PSOL, and became an alternative to CUT in 2006. Also in 2006, Intersindical emerged, uniting sections of the trade union movement (but no popular movements) linked to PSOL, but also others that were late in breaking links with the CUT.
In its first congress in 2007, even with strong disagreement and internal debate, PSOL passed a resolution, later confirmed by its Trade Union Conference, calling for the formation of a new TU federation, uniting Conlutas and Intersindical. This process of unification gained momentum with the effects of the capitalist crisis and the attacks on workers. Regional seminars and a national seminar are scheduled between September and November and a National Conference to found a new united federation, including fighting sections of the trade union movement, could take place next year.



The main debate today about this process is the character of this new federation. Some groups, especially Intersindical, argue that it should be exclusively made up of trade unions. On the other hand, the majority of Conlutas, including the Bloc of Socialist Resistance (which also operates within Conlutas), argue that it organises, alongside trade unions, workers organised in popular movements, like the homeless, landless, anti-racism and gender oppression movements, but also student movements, with a working class orientation.



The resolution passed at the second congress of PSOL reaffirms the need for a new federation, although it has already decided in favour of one exclusively made up of trade unions. However, a profound debate will take place on this issue, so this is only the beginning. Behind this attitude lies a desire to prepare for a dispute with the PSTU within the new federation, which will not be a solid basis for a new organisation that will be created.



The Socialist Resistance bloc argued at the congress for a resolution that defended the foundation of a new ‘Centre’ and at the same time, opened the character of the new Centre up for debate, without deciding on a stance beforehand. However, only a minority supported this. Anyhow, the debate will take place within the movement, and the bloc will continue to defend its position in favour of organising the working class and its allies in a broad sense, and with a class based, democratic and socialist perspective.
Internal dispute within the party

The two main currents that formed the majority camp in the party after the first Congress were MES (Socialist Left Movement), led by the federal deputy (MP) Luciana Genro, one of the “radicals” expelled from the PT for voting against the pension reforms of the government in 2003, and APS (Socialist Popular Action), of the federal deputy Ivan Valente, who entered the party in 2005, together with other sections that came from the PT.
Both currents were responsible for the policy of alliances with parties supporting Lula’s government and bourgeois parties in 2008. MES presented Luciana Genro as candidate for mayor in Porto Alegre (capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul) in alliance with the Green Party, which in the previous election, had been in coalition with the party that supported the military regime. APS put forward the candidate for vice mayor of Macapá (capital of Amapá in the Amazonian region), in an alliance led by the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party, which supports Lula and in some states supports the traditional right). Besides these cases, there were more than 20 cities with the same type of alliances.



Both currents were also responsible for the adoption of the rules for the second Congress, in opposition to the original concept of PSOL as a party with an active base, upon which PSOL was founded. To participate in the Congress, it was enough to have signed a membership form in time and come to a meeting to vote for a delegate. There was no requirement to pay membership fees or congress fees (the congress fees ended up being indirectly paid by the currents or parliamentary mandates), to take part in a branch meeting or even participate in any real discussion about the different congress documents presented. Consequently, about 11,000 participated in the congress process.



However, if the figures inflated, there was a narrow funnel to the top. The party branches couldn’t elect delegates directly to the National Congress. The delegates were to be elected in state congresses, which discouraged the existence of branches. In total 373 delegates participated in the second Congress, half the number of the first Congress.
In spite of the political unity between those two currents, there was always a dispute over who would control the party. The differences began to appear when MES, who negate the importance of the international crisis and pose the issue of corruption as the main focus of the intervention of the party, and which tried in a totally non-political manner recruit the Federal Police officer Protógenes Queiroz, who headed the operation that led to the imprisonment of one of the most hated Brazilian bankers.
Protógenes Queiroz supports Lula’s government and does not present himself as a socialist, in spite of having, after all the crises in PSOL, chosen to affiliate to PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil, which supports Lula’s government). If he had joined PSOL, this would interfered with the relationship of forces within the party. A good electoral result for Quieroz would have strengthened MES inside.



The risk of a loss of status by the biggest current, led MES to wage a virtual internal war in the period coming up to the congress. On the other hand, APS tried to create an atmosphere of unity between the other currents, including the left of the party, against MES. In the state congress in Rio Grande do Sul, for example, where MES is dominant, almost all currents (including part of the left), united in a slate where the only point of unity was the desire to defeat MES. The Socialist Resistance bloc (through Socialist Alternative, a group which participates in the bloc), which has an important base in the party and the trade union movement in the state, refused to adopt this position, and called on the left within the party to form a left slate, but ended up standing alone.



In the National Congress of PSOL, faced with the fact that it would lose its position as part of the majority, MES managed to unite its allies in a walkout from the congress, threatening a split in the party. To do that, they used as an excuse that the presidium of the congress and the president of the party, Heloísa Helena, had been disrespected by the women’s caucus of the party, which loudly demanded the right to defend the abortion rights as part of the programme of the party. The issue of abortion is extremely polarising within the party, as Heloísa Helena insists in putting forward an emphatic public position against abortion, although the party voted a resolution in favour of abortion rights at the first Congress.



During the night of Saturday 22 August) after a failed attempt to gather the National Executive, the party was virtually split into two wings and the different sections were already discussing the legal mechanisms to control the party name, finances, etc.



On Sunday morning, the plenary session of the Congress was held, without the participation of MES, it allies and Heloísa Helena. But, after a while, they returned to the Congress, after a commitment from APS, that even if they were in a majority with their allies, they would offer the presidency of the party to Heloísa Helena, even though she, at that moment, was explicitly on the side of MES.



In spite of this concession from APS, there was an extreme polarisation in the congress. One effect of this was that, of the three groups that composed the left slate in the first Congress, only two maintained that position. We, the Bloc of Socialist Resistance, composed a slate together with the Socialist Workers’ Current (CST, a section of UIT, an international of ‘Morenoite’ origin). The Socialism and Liberty Collective (CSOL, a split from PSTU-LIT) ended up joining the new majority camp together with APS, alleging that this would ensure a defeat of the MES.
The current called Enlace (that has members linked to the former Unified Secretariat of the Fourth International), was the most emphatic in defending unity with APS to make up a new majority.
The final result in the leadership election was that the new majority slate, including APS, Enlace, CSOL and others, got 48.9% of the votes. The slate with MES, Heloísa Helena and others got 40.8%. The slate composed by the Bloc of Socialist Resistance and CST got 10.2%.
PSOL and the recomposition of the Brazilian left

Compared with the first Congress, the left of the party ended up smaller, due to the adherence of CSOL to the new majority. In the first congress, the left slate got 23,6% of the votes, compared with 10,2% now. In spite of that, the party has not moved further to the right.
The reason for that is, firstly, the impact of the international crisis on the party. This forced sections of the party to assume clearer slogans of struggle, like the suspension of payment of the public debt and the nationalisation of banks and companies that implement mass sackings, and the renationalisation of state companies that had been privatised in the past.



Whoever becomes candidate for the party in 2010, those slogans will be much more present then in the 2006 election campaign, for example.
But, apart from the effects of the capitalist crisis on PSOL, the division of the majority camp forced different sections to try to move left, in relation to its adversaries. Even if it is not consistent, at least it served to freeze or at least turn more slowly the momentum towards the moderation of the party.



The new majority will continue to prioritise the electoral field, subordinating the intervention in the social movements. The difference is that APS tries to get better electoral results also using an organised rank-and-file in the social movements, in contrast to MES, who prefer to invest in public figures, “good at getting votes”, as a short cut, to gain parliamentary positions.



The damage to internal democracy and the concept of a party with an active rank-and-file, caused by the pre-congress process, will be difficult to reverse. In its fight against MES, APS was forced to raise some issues about internal democracy in the party, such as the need to make clear the rules about the proportional distribution of posts in the leadership of the party. But they will not get far. Their concept of a party became clear in the pre-congress period, when they used the same methods as MES.
The sector that lost the majority at the Congress, headed by MES, will tend to present itself as a public faction of the party, or “open opposition”, as they say. They work with the perspective that in 2010 they will manage to get Luciana Genro re-elected as federal deputy easily, and also count on Heloísa Helena as senator. On the other hand, APS could have much more difficulties in electing deputies if they cannot secure Heloísa Helena as president candidate.
This can lead to a conflict between the formal majority in the party leadership and the representatives in the parliament and main public figure, acting on their own, leading to a situation of permanent conflict and internal chaos. The perspectives for the Electoral Conference in October are not clear. Despite the decision to hold the Congress, it could be postponed and a new severe crisis is not ruled out.
The fact that the Congress almost fell apart and the level of tension in the internal relations point to an uncertain future for PSOL. During 2010, some kind of agreement will have to be made between the bigger currents. After all, they all need the party label for the elections. But what will happen after 2010?
Nevertheless, the Liberty, Socialism and Revolution (LSR – CWI in Brazil) and the Socialist Resistance bloc, came out strengthened from this process. In October, the Bloc will hold an important Seminar to discuss political strategy and the necessity of a more organic relationship between the groups composing the Bloc. This will help build a coherent left, both within PSOL and in the new TU centre that will be built.
PSOL suffers firstly because of the contradictions in consciousness and in the organised workers movement. If the crisis had a positive impact over the party, the lack of a qualitative leap in the level of struggle of the masses, even after the initial the major effects of the crisis, compounds the difficulties for the process of recomposition of the socialist left in Brazil.



Even so, PSOL is regarded by million of youth and workers as the only workers’ alternative. It is necessary for PSOL in the end of 2009 and during 2010 to work to accumulate forces together with the social movements, in the struggle against Lula’s government and the governments of the traditional right, and also in the electoral process, to create a strong political reference for the left. In a more favourable scenario, with a weaker government than Lula’s, with more difficulties in implementing its policies against the majority of the people, this resistance can lead to a new offensive by workers, with an anti-capitalist and socialist perspective.

Thank you for information. It is disheartening that the Left Front in Brazil apparently failed :thumbdown:.

[free marijuana]

guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/04/brazil-presidential-election-rousseff-lula-serra-marina

A late surge by the Green party candidate has forced Brazil's presidential election into a second round, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's favoured successor narrowly failing to become the nation's first female leader.

Exit polls had suggested Dilma Rousseff, a former leftwing rebel, might still scrape a narrow first-round victory despite falling away in the polls in recent weeks. But the Workers' party (PT) candidate fell short of the 50% needed, taking 47% of the vote.

The Greens' Marina Silva, a former rubber-tapper and staunch defender of the Amazon rainforest, got 19%, while Rousseff's main rival, José Serra, the Social Democrat, took nearly 33%. Rousseff will face Serra in the second round on 31 October.

Political analysts are divided on which candidate Marina Silva might support in the second round – if she supports anyone at all. One recent poll suggested a significant number of her voters could shift their support to Jose Serra rather than Rousseff in the runoff.

In the run up to the campaign Serra reportedly attempted to convince Silva to stand as his vice-presidential candidate but his approaches were rejected. Analysts suggest he may now repeat his offer or look to Fernando Gabeira, another prominent Green party member who has lost out in the race to become Rio de Janeiro's governor.

[The Red Next Door]

Do you mean Chavez?

Chavez is the only real progressive in the nation.

No, Obama. America is a part of the Americas.

[scarletghoul]

This is interesting. On the one hand it shows how marxist guerillas have a lot of respect in latin america and that the left and its legacy is very popular. On the other, who knows if she would be socialist at all... people change.. After all, Eldridge Cleaver was once a Marxist guerilla; he ended up a conservative Mormon.

[Crux]

This is interesting. On the one hand it shows how marxist guerillas have a lot of respect in latin america and that the left and its legacy is very popular. On the other, who knows if she would be socialist at all... people change.. After all, Eldridge Cleaver was once a Marxist guerilla; he ended up a conservative Mormon.
She is the chosen successor of Lula. I cannot stress this enough. Having been a guerilla member in the 1970's does not change that one bit.
I also doubt they are pushing the guerilla card in the election, as something else than a mere left-prop. The PT will continue on it's neo-liberal trajectory regardless.

[vyborg]

Thanx for all the information. Does the comrade from Brazil or other comrades have updated information about the strenght of the PSOL and PSTU that are, if I'm correct, the 2 biggest organizations at the left of the PT

[Zeus the Moose]

Thanx for all the information. Does the comrade from Brazil or other comrades have updated information about the strenght of the PSOL and PSTU that are, if I'm correct, the 2 biggest organizations at the left of the PT

Electorally, they aren't near the size of the PT (which is pretty much to be expected.) On the presidential level, PSOL's candidate for president, Plinio Sampaio, received around .9% of the vote, whereas the PSTU presidential candidate received about a tenth of that. Of course, in the 2006 elections the PSTU supported PSOL, and that candidate received close to 7% of the vote IIRC. Part of the rapid decrease was probably the presence of Maria Silva as candidate of the Green Party. She may have been attractive for left opponents of the PT and as such cut into PSOL's vote, though it doesn't quite politically match up, so hopefully Brazilian comrades could weigh in on this.

In terms of legislative representation, PSOL managed to elect two senators (up from one), three federal deputies (same as the 2006 elections), and four regional deputies (don't know the change there.) The PSTU hasn't elected anyone on the federal level, and I don't know about the region level. For comrades who are interested, Brazil has a fairly comprehensive election results site, which is fairly easy to navigate even for those of us who do not speak Portuguese: http://divulgacao.tse.gov.br/#

EDIT: here's a piece from the 2006 elections which gives some vague notions as to the size of the PSTU and PSOL (as well as a smaller Trotskyist party, the PCO.) It says that the PSTU is both "bigger and more politically coherent" than PSOL, though it doesn't really substantiate this claim. And of course, this may have changed in the intervening four years: http://refoundation.home.igc.org/ref_rev_2006_12/cm_pj_brazil_election.html

[human strike]

Brazil is one of the most important economies in the world - the fact that the PT has in fact largely supported the internationalsit agenda of Venezuela, Bolivia and others has been crucial in their continued survival. Brazil's government is far from socialist, but if it hasn't been good for Brazil then it has certainly been good for the rest of Latin America. Without Brazil you can just about forget about Latin American independence imo.

[RadioRaheem84]

While this is true, it also comes the expense of the Brazilian working class who have do to deal with Lula's constant compromising.