The Second Round and the Workers' Interests
AmericaBrazil
To prepare a General Strike in defense of retirement, labor rights and employment!
The result of the 1st round of elections shows once again the enormous dissatisfaction of the population with governments and politicians responsible for unemployment, misery, violence and corruption that plague the country.
By PSTU – Brazil National Leadership
In the 2nd round, whether Bolsonaro from the PSL (Social Liberal Party) or Fernando Haddad from the PT (Workers Party) is elected, they will attack our rights and living conditions to favor bankers and great entrepreneurs who finance them and support them.
Therefore, we from the working class must oppose the elected government, whichever it may be, from day one and be prepared to fight in defense of pensions, the Christmas bonus, employment, land, and the rights of the oppressed.
From the PSTU, we say beforehand that we will oppose the future government, whether it be Bolsonaro or Haddad, and their allies. Neither of them will rule for our class, for those below. Both will rule for bankers.
We will vote against Bolsonaro, on 13, without any political support on Haddad
Jair Bolsonaro stands for a project of dictatorship for our country. He stands for torture and military dictatorship, which existed in Brazil after the 1964 military coup d'état and lasted 21 years. It ended direct election for President in Brazil, the right to strike and demonstration, freedom of speech, freedom of union and political organization. To defend the interests of the great entrepreneurs and banks, the dictatorship imprisoned, tortured and even murdered those who disagreed, those who dared stand in opposition. This way they exploited the people, and the workers could not complain. Bolsonaro and his vice president stand for this "in case it is necessary".
The PSL candidate said "he will end with all activism" in Brazil. Do you know what he means by this? Native people will not be able to demand their lands. The black will not be able to fight racism and discrimination. Women will be forbidden to fight for their rights and for equality. Workers will lose their unions and will not be able to fight and enter strike. His government will go on to harsh repression against fights. The land owners' gunmen, murderers like those who killed Marielle and the PM (Military Police) are free to kill. All this without mentioning he has been a parliamentary representative for the past 30 years and is as corrupt as all the other politicians ruling from Brasilia are.
We know that many industrial workers and other workers voted for Bolsonaro, but not because they agree with these barbarism. They voted for him because they are outraged with everything that is there, with unemployment, generalized corruption, the withdrawal of rights and the PT. Many of the workers who voted on the PT before, today they feel betrayed and they are right. Not just due to the corruption scandals. Let us remember that Dilma in the 2014 elections promised not to withdraw any rights "even if pigs fly". Right after being elected, she named a banker the Minister of Treasury and confiscated the PIS (Contribution to the Social Integration Plan) and the unemployment benefit of the industrial working class. They voted for Bolsonaro more to punish the PT than because they support or even know Jair Bolsonaro's proposals.
We feel this same indignation. We also want to change everything there is. Furthermore, if Haddad reaches office he will attack our rights, as the Dilma administration did. He will follow the same script as the previous PT administrations, allied to bankers, great entrepreneurs and most of the political mob that inhabits the National Congress.
However, even so, to vote for Bolsonaro is to shot ourselves in the foot, and that of all the working class. First, he will attack our rights. He will carry out Temer's pensions reform, or maybe a worse version of it. He will further deepen the labor reform, even ending the Christmas bonus. And he will continue privatizing public goods.
Second, because Bolsonaro, before the struggle of the workers for their rights, will go beyond the repression of our struggle as the other governments, including the PT administrations did. He threatens to place military in the streets and impose a dictatorship to stop workers from fighting, defending their rights and interests. He threatens to end all organization and demonstration freedoms in our country.
We cannot facilitate Bolsonaro to have the strength to do all this once he is in office. It makes no sense to give him and his vice-president the possibility to withdraw our freedoms of organization, strike, demonstration and expression. Therefore, no industrial worker or any other worker should vote for Jair Bolsonaro. Therefore, without giving any trust or political support to the PT we should vote 13 (Haddad) in the second round.
We need to be prepared to fight from now
We trust the capability of struggle of the working class and the poor people of our country. We carried out an enormous General Strike in 2017 that stopped Temer's pensions reform. If we had continued with the fight at the time, we could have also stopped the labor reform and even overthrown Temer. Sadly, the leadership of parties like PT and Solidaridade, and the leaderships of the great union federations disorganized and setback the struggle. This must change.
We need to prepare from now to fight in defense of our rights, independent of who is elected in the second round. We need to be ready to face and defeat Bolsonaro and his authoritarianism in the streets. When our class is united and organized, it is stronger than all of them and we may defeat them.
A calling to the federations, unions and movements: Let us prepare the General Strike
Both Jair Bolsonaro and Fernando Haddad have compromised with the "Market" to carry out the reform and attack our pensions to continue paying the so-called Public Debt, which is actually a mechanism to divert public resources for bankers.
The united mobilization of the working class and the social movements is the only thing that may actually defeat Jair Bolsonaro's authoritarianism and the attacks on our rights and organizations. We, who build all wealth there is, may stop the country, show our strength and overcome.
It is necessary to build unity to fight. To build a United Front to defend our pensions, to stop them from withdrawing our rights, and to demand jobs. Just as well, the united front is necessary to defeat, in the streets, Bolsonaro's authoritarianism, his followers and the military leadership that supports him.
Let us prepare from now the conditions for a new General Strike.
#EleNão #NotHim
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