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Brazil:Bolsonaro's Inauguration: the coup continues!

Liga Socialista, Brazil

It should be clear from the beginning that Bolsonaro’s election is the continuation of the coup that overthrew former President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers’ Party, PT, and attacked the democratic and social gains made by the working class since the overthrow of the military dictatorship. At the time, the then deputy Jair Bolsonaro, strongly defended the coup and seized the moment to attack not only President Dilma, but PT-supporters in general, socialists, social movements and unions. Knowing this, it is easier to see that Bolsonaro’s inauguration as President is nothing more than the continuation of this coup. When we have a coup d’état, the coup makers do not undertake such an essential move only to later surrender the power so easily in an electoral process “democratically”. It would be too naive to believe that this could happen.

The 2018 elections in Brazil were nothing more than a scam set up by the coup plotters, with the plain and simple intention of giving the project of the elites a democratic façade. The plan was simple, hold the elections but prevent the country’s most popular leader, Lula, from standing. They condemned Lula, without evidence, in first and second instance and arrested him. Lula’s imprisonment is yet another attack on democratic freedoms, which makes Lula a political prisoner who should be released.

The inauguration

Bolsonaro’s inauguration ceremony made it clear that he does not have as much popular support as was claimed. The mass media were betting on the presence of more than 200 thousand people, there were even those who predicted 500 thousand. What we saw was much less; compared to mobilisations of workers that occurred at other times, it can be estimated that the number was less then 50 thousand. The tabloids, with a lot of photoshop-editing, tried to increase this number to 115 thousand.

In his inaugural speech, Bolsonaro showed that he still acts and thinks as if he were still on his election campaign, defending the “holiness of the family”, attacking leftist ideologies, praising police violence. This clearly shows his semifascist side, putting in the centre of his policy the idea of ​​an enormously powerful enemy of the “real” Brazilians that must be fought by all means: PT-supporters in the “deep state”, socialists, trade unionists, the alleged left majority of teachers and intellecturals, LGBTs, blacks and all social movements.

Thus, Bolsonaro reinforces the hostility to the left, and what he calls its “sickening ideologies”, waving the flag of Brazil and affirming that: “This is our flag that will never be red. It will only be red if it takes our blood to keep it green and yellow.” The central theme of his speech was the need to “liberate the country from socialism”. One more element of fascism here is his invention of a dangerous enemy of the country, which does not really exist. After all, it was during the PT governments that the bankers made their biggest profits. Not only the biggest bank of the country, Itaú, moved from record profit to record profit every year under this so-called “socialism”.

The attacks

While Bolsonaro continues with his semifascist propaganda, his ministers take over and have already outlined the attacks against the workers. Let us see what Paulo Guedes, Economy Minister, said.

“Let us liberate the credit markets from the state.” Guedes emphasised the importance of a liberal turnaround in Brazil after decades of social-democratic management. In addition, he stressed that, as well as controlling state spending, it is necessary to move ahead with the privatisation agenda. “The idea is to sell everything to the private sector”, said Salim Mattar, who took over the privatisation secretariat.

Besides privatisations and pension “reform”, Guedes did not miss the opportunity to also take aim at workers’ rights, stating that the country needs to, “liberate future generations from labour regulations and social security systems”. He also stated that he “wants to give young people the option of working under the green and yellow work permit regime”, that is, to remove the rights guaranteed by the CLT (comment by translator: CLT are the old labour laws that define regular working conditions, compared to non-standard employment by the red and yellow card “exceptions”). In fact, it is not an option but a lack of choice, because in this case the young person must accept or be unemployed. Source: Valor (https://www.valor.com.br/brasil/6046141/guedes-defende-desestatizacaoo-d…)

Organize the fight

The government is wrong if it believes that the working class will passively watch these attacks being carried out. The prospect is a struggle, a lot of struggle. Workers are well aware of how much it will cost them if the pension reform, further attacks on labour laws, privatisations, cuts in health care and public education are pushed through by the new government.

The proposals of the Bolsonaro government are a fundamental threat to the working class. Workers without rights, with very low wages and without the right of retirement: that means working like slaves until they die or they will become old and unemployed, surviving as beggars.

Faced with this situation, our response must rise to meet the challenge. Bolsonaro’s government is the continuation of the coup that toppled Dilma Rousseff and it means to carry through all these attacks against the working class. Therefore, we do not recognise its legitimacy in any way.

We will fight with all our forces against the social security reforms, the attacks on labour laws, privatisations and any other measures that attack us, from this illegitimate and semi-fascist government.

We need to organise ourselves immediately from the rank and file. In every workplace, school, neighborhood, we need to build Resistance Committees. Where they already exist, we need to expand them. This struggle has to be built from the bottom up, forcing the trade union leaderships and the left parties to lead the movement. Decisions must be taken by the Resistance Committees and the parties and the unions must put them into practice under their control. Only thus, will we have a real movement of resistance, truly democratic, that will lead us to victory!

Against the pension reform!

Defend all working class gains!

Against privatisations!

Free Lula!

Away with Bolsonaro!

GENERAL STRIKE!

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