Brazil on Eve of Lula Inauguration: Updated Dossier
1) Introductory Note -- by OWC
Continuations Committee
2) Brazil: "Enough Humiliation! Occupation is
the Solution!": Landless Peasants Occupy Lands They've Been
Denied For Decades -- by Aparecida Ribeiro
3) Presentation by Markus Sokol
on Dec. 17 to the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Brazilian
Workers Party (PT) on Lula's Cabinet Appointments. (Sokol is a member of
the PT's National Executive Committee.)
4) Cardoso and Bosses Undermine New
Government on Eve of Inauguration -- by Joao Penha
5) Interview with Jesualdo Campos, member of
the National Executive Committee of the Unified Trade Union
Confederation of Brazil (CUT) from the state of Pernambuco -- excerpts
reprinted from O Trabalho newspaper
1) Introductory Note
On Jan. 1, 2003, Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva will be
inaugurated as Brazil's new president. The OWC Continuations Committee
has devoted a great deal of attention to the developing situation in
Brazil. Since the landslide victory of Lula and the Workers Party (PT)
on Oct. 27, we have published more than a dozen in depth-articles on the
new situation in Brazil.
In our last posting ("Brazil: Unions and Social Pact Update"),
we reported extensively on the Nov. 28-29 meeting of the National
Executive Committee of the Unified Trade Union Confederation of Brazil
(CUT). In this posting below, we include excerpts from an interview with
a CUT member who attended that meeting.
Before that article, we are reprinting a report on the massive wave of
land occupations that has swept Brazil in the aftermath of the PT's Oct.
27 electoral victory. We also are reprinting the statement by PT
National Executive Committee member Markus Sokol on the meaning of the
recent cabinet appointments announced by Lula, as well as a brief
article on how the ruling class in Brazil has set out to undermine the
new PT government.
We hope you enjoy these special direct reports from Brazil -- and we
call upon you, yet again, to continue making your generous donations to
our OWC Translation Fund to ensure that these articles can continue to
be printed in English. Your checks should be made payable to OWC and
sent to our address above. Thanks in advance for your support, and
wishing all of you the very best for the new year. May it be a year of
determined struggle and victories for our side.
In solidarity,
OWC Continuations Committee
**********
2) Brazil: "Enough Humiliation! Occupation is the
Solution!"
Landless Peasants Occupy Lands They've Been Denied For Decades
By APARECIDA RIBEIRO
SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The landless peasants in Brazil cannot wait any
longer. They have taken matters into their own hands, occupying fallow
lands they've been denied for decades. It's a matter of life or death.
The reason behind this recent upsurge in land takeovers can be found in
this one statistic: 45 percent of all cultivated lands are in the hands
of just 1 percent of the landholders.
Thirty-five thousand large landownders (or fazendeiros) -- often simple
agents of the large banks or multinational corporations for whom the
land's value is mainly speculative -- possess expanses of land in the
tens of thousands of acres.
On the one hand you have the latifundios -- which are the properties of
the rich and the politicians in their pay -- and on the other hand you
have 3 million people (according to the official statistics of the
National Institute for Agrarian Reform) who have been deprived of lands
and who must roam the countryside looking for work in jobs where they
are at the mercy of the jagunços (or hired foremen), who abuse and
harass the landless peasants, to the point of assassinating those who
dare to stand up for their rights. It is estimated that more than 2,000
landless peasants have been assassinated over the past 30 years.
The Landless Peasants Movement (MST) was born in 1984 out of this brutal
struggle. Today it organizes all the landless peasants in Brazil. It
benefits from close relations with the Workers Party (PT) and the
Unified Workers Confederation (CUT), both of which arose at about the
same time as the MST.
Like the rest of the social and popular movements, the MST played a
frontline role in electing Lula and the PT to office on Oct. 27.
"We hope that Lula will be our ally," said Gilmar Mauro,.
national leader of the MST. "But this will not substitute for our
struggle. I don't believe the agrarian reform we've fought so hard to
win will be decreed with one stroke of the pen. It will take popular
participation, mobilization and organization to win our demands."
The MST has formulated clearly its stance toward the new government. To
those who asked them time and again if the MST was going to name the new
government Minister of Agriculture, the MST leaders responded that their
role was not to designate the government minister. Their role, they
said, was to "preserve the independence of their movement in
relation to the new government, which is the best way to guarantee the
implementation of a genuine agrarian reform."
In the state of Minas Gerais alone, 2.54 million acres of land are at
the center of a protracted struggle. Since Oct. 27, land invasions and
occupations have taken place across the state and nationwide, involving
thousands of families who are demanding that the new government listen
to their plight.
On Nov. 20, an estimated 70 landless peasant families occupied 800 acres
of land belonging to the Banco do Brasil in Juazeiro, 300 miles from
Salvador in Bahia. "We saw that these fertile lands remained
uncultivated, so we decided the occupation. Should the landless peasants
be left to die of hunger?" asked Walmir Assunçao, regional
coordinator of the MST.
When asked by a journalist if this land occupation was conducted after
consultation with president-elect Lula or anyone on his transition team,
Assunçao replied, "No, not at all -- though we are certain that
once in office, Lula will give the green light to these land occupations
and to a genuine agrarian reform law. We intend to help move the
government in this direction, which is why we will continue to occupy
all lands left fallow."
In the community of Sao Francisco, the fazenda of Catinga had been
targeted by the MST for many years. On Dec. 6, more than 150 families
occupied the lands. The owners threatened to burn their encampment if
they did not leave the premises, The landless peasants responded by
destroying the two armed outposts and forcing the owners' hired hands,
the jagunços, to flee.
On Dec. 9, in one of the most publicized land invasions, 157 families
took over 20,000 acres of land in Barreirinho, in the district of Unai.
This land had been expropriated from five landowners 15 years ago in the
framework of the very timid -- and rarely enforced -- Agrarian Reform
program. The land had been the object of countless lawsuits and
countersuits since that time involving the landowners and the Institute
of Lands of Minas Gerais (ITER).
Over this 15-year period, neither the state government in Minas Gerais
nor the federal government had been able to overcome all the legal and
other obstacles placed in the way of these landless peasant families.
But with one determined action on Dec. 9, the question was settled. And
now these families have vowed not to leave the occupied lands until the
new government gives them full titles to the land, as they had been
promised.
"Enough humiliation! Occupation is the solution" has become
the slogan of the day for the landless peasants' movement. It was the
slogan that was chanted, for example, at an impressive mass
demonstration of landless peasants on Dec. 11 in one of the most
conflict-ridden regions of rural Brazil, the Pontal de Paranapanema.
**********
3) Presentation by Markus Sokol to the National Executive
Committee Meeting of the Brazilian Workers Party (PT) on Lula's Cabinet
Appointments
(December 17, 2002)
Dear Sisters and Brothers
We are all aware of the delicate and difficult situation the new
government will encounter upon assuming office on Jan. 1, 2003.
On the one hand, we have the millions of working people across Brazil
with their deep aspirations for jobs at a living wage, healthcare,
agrarian reform, education, housing, and the like. They understand that
not all their demands will be solved overnight, but they await a clear
signal that concrete measures will be taken by the new government to
begin to address their most urgent needs.
On the other hand, however, there are all the obstacles that are being
placed, and will continue to be placed, in the path of the government
that will take office on Jan. 1.
The budget for 2003, for example, is part of the cursed legacy inherited
from the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC). The budget is
structured in such a way as to pay back the foreign debt, not to attend
to the needs of the Brazilian people. In fact, it calls for a sharp
reduction in the healthcare, housing, education and other social
budgets.
Our Workers Party (PT) deputies sounded the alarm a while back on these
issues, noting that the outgoing government was placing time-bombs in
our midst, to sabotage a future Workers Party government.
The truth of the matter is that those who were defeated Oct. 27 are
doing everything in their power to ensure that the policies implemented
by Cardoso over the past eight years are maintained, if not deepened.
That is why it was correct to insist, as the PT comrades did, that it
was impossible to keep Arminio Fraga, or somebody like him, as head of
Brazil's Central Bank .
Last week, however, the president elect -- Luis Inacio "Lula"
da Silva -- announced the names of some of the principal ministers
[equivalent to cabinet nominations in the United States--translator's
note] in the incoming government.
Thousands of PT members across the country found out from the mainstream
media, as we did, that prominent Big Business personalities, many of
whom had supported the defeated Cardoso candidacy, had been named to key
posts in the new government. This has created an extreme malaise across
the board within the PT, as even the National Directorate of the PT was
never convened, nor was it even consulted, to discuss these cabinet
appointments.
Hence, we learned that the new president of the Central Bank will be
Henrique Meirelles, a federal deputy from the PSDB opposition party in
the state of Goias. Meirelles is the former president for international
affairs of the Bank of Boston, one of the largest banks in the United
States. Later we learned that Luiz Fernando Furlan was appointed
Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce and that Roberto
Rodrigues was named to head the Ministry of Agriculture.
Rodrigues is the president of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association and
campaigned for José Serra on radio and TV. He even helped Serra develop
his policy statements on agriculture. [Serra was the ruling-class
candidate who lost to Lula in the second round of the election on Oct.
27--translator's note.] The appointment of Furlan, who is president of
the Sadia business group, was "greeted with great joy by the
employers' associations," according to a press release issued by
Horacio Piva, president of FIESP, the Sao Paulo employers' association.
Shouldn't these appointments -- all of which were "greeted with
great joy" by those who were defeated at the polling booths on Oct.
27 -- be grounds for widespread concern for the millions of working
people and youth who voted for the PT with the hope that things would
finally change for the better?
What are we to say to the new president of the Central Bank? Can we
expect that he will defend the country from all the speculators and
bankers who are clamoring for the repayment of the foreign debt, a debt
that has been paid back many times over? Meirelles was a top functionary
of a bank that is Brazil's second largest creditor -- a bank which,
according to legal complaints filed by the PT itself back in 1999 , was
among the international financial institutions that made a killing
speculating on the devaluation of the Real [Brazil's currency],
benefiting from insider trading information. This man comes from that
sector of international finance capital that led Argentina into the
current chaotic and destitute situation in which it now finds itself.
Can we expect that this new Minister of Agriculture, who is a large
fazendeiro [feudal-style landowner--translator's note] that made his
fortune exploiting mercilessly the sugar cane workers in Ribeirão Preto,
will address and provide solutions to the plight of the hundreds of
thousands of landless peasants?
What will be the priorities of Mr. Furlan, the incoming Minister of
Commerce and Development? He's a man who has been hailed loudly by Piva
and the bosses of the FIESP, that is, by the very people who have been
pushing for a "Social Pact" where the workers and the unions
are called upon to "share in the belt-tightening." Will
Furlan's priorities be the priorities of the workers and the
impoverished people who on Oct. 27 affirmed their desire for jobs,
living and dignified wages and conditions, labor rights that are fully
respected, public healthcare and social security -- all of which the
bosses of the FIESP deny with an iron fist to the workers in their own
factories? Won't this Minister of Commerce and Development be pushing
the priority of the "marketplace" -- that is, the age-old
privileges of a small minority?
Can anyone actually believe that these newly appointed Ministers --
given where they come from -- will respond positively to the demands of
our suffering people?
We must be clear: It will not be by pursuing the same policies that have
led us to the current disastrous situation that we will be able to move
forward and get out of this crisis.
Every day that passes we are witnesses to the brutality of the policies
dictated by the "market." This is what leads the current
director-general of the IMF to declare, for example, that a war in Iraq
could be a good thing for the global economy. This is what propels the
United Nations' Security Council to issue statements legitimizing Bush's
war against the people of Iraq.
Every time a concession is made to the exigencies of the
"market," more and deeper concessions are demanded. To impose
their rule, the powers-that-be -- the guardians of the
"market" -- do not hesitate to do what they are doing in
Venezuela, where a united front has been established between the U.S.
Embassy, the bosses' associations and the bureaucracy of the CTV union
federation with the purpose of overthrowing a regime that does not
submit totally to Washington's directives.
A force of 53 million people who gave the PT its electoral victory on
Oct. 27 rose up against all these "exigencies of the market."
This is the same political force that has risen up in Argentina against
the IMF-imposed crisis and that this coming December 20 will organize a
general strike led by the CTA.
It is a political force that is still standing firm here in Brazil and
that is poised to help a new government that carries out policies that
are in the interests of the great majority of working people.
Noneone here in this room will say that the road ahead will be easy. It
will not be simple to remove all the obstacles that are placed in the
path of the establishment of a genuine PT government that can adopt
measures that are essential to our people.
But that is why, more than ever, it is necessary to preserve the PT as
it was constituted historically; that is, as a genuinely independent
political party of the workers of the city and the countryside. Key to
this task is safeguarding the free expression of ideas and of diverse
points of view inside our party.
All of us know the tradition of free discussion and debate inside the
PT. Not all of us share the same points of view on all questions. I, for
one, have not always held the same position as Senator Heloisa Helena on
a series of relevant questions. But I am acutely aware of the traditions
of our party, including of our parliamentary fraction, where members
with minority positions are not sanctioned for their positions. This
freedom of expression and debate within the party is not only a mark of
our history and tradition, it represents one of our biggest strengths.
(Markus Sokol is a member of the National Executive Committee of the
Workers Party/PT of Brazil.)
**********
4) Cardoso and Bosses Undermine New Government on Eve of
Inauguration
Just as president-elect Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva began
to select his new cabinet [see statement by PT leader Markus Sokol
above], the outgoing government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso set out to
undermine the conditions in which the new government is to take office.
The education budget for 2003, voted already by the lameduck National
Assembly [or Congress], will be cut by millions of Reais through a
recent government decree "in order to cover unpaid foreign debt
installments."
Cardoso, moreover, raided the unemployment insurance fund at the last
minute so that he could attain the 3.75% budget surplus demanded by the
IMF.
"The government of president-elect Lula will have during its first
year in office a far more restricted and limited budget than Cardoso did
at any time during his 8-year term," wrote the daily O Estado,
on Dec. 8. "Lula will inherit a situation of declining earnings, a
slowdown in investments and increased pressures for debt
repayment."
On Dec. 4, O Estado wrote the following: "Despite the fiscal
adjustments, the debt owed by the states to the federal government
increased in 2002, far surpassing the ability of the states to generate
income. This will affect particularly those states with the highest
public sector payrolls in the coming years, as they will have to make
the largest budget cuts given that they have less and less money to pay
for wages."
Further on in this same article in O Estado, the writer states,
"The new Lula government will have less money for education in 2003
than Cardoso had in 2002. Just the interest on the debt owed by the
Ministry of Education will increase from 72 million Reais to 196 million
Reais for fiscal year 2003."
Meanwhile, as O Estado reports on Dec. 8, "the recent IMF
delegation that met with Lula and his transition team is demanding that
Lula decree as soon as possible the full autonomy of Brazil's Central
Bank. This was the direct message delivered to Lula by IMF
Director-General Horst Köhler." - J.P.
**********
5) Interview with Jesualdo Campos, member of the National
Executive Committee of the Unified Trade Union Confederation of Brazil
(CUT) from the state of Pernambuco
(excerpts reprinted from O Trabalho newspaper)
Question: The leadership of the CUT met on Nov. 28-29 to discuss
what stance the CUT should take in relation to the new government. CUT
President Joao Felicio told the press following the meeting that the CUT
had resolved to adopt an "autonomous yet responsible" stance.
What is the meaning of this formulation?
Campos: The CUT was called on to define its position in a new
situation marked by the landslide electoral victory of the Workers Party
(PT) on Oct. 27.
A leader of the majority current in the CUT explained that the new
government will be pressured from abroad and from within the country to
agree to go along with the implementation of IMF structural adjustment
policies. He said that the new government will be a pressure cooker
where all the conflicts resulting from the clash of the two contending
social classes in society -- the employers and the workers -- will be
played out. He said that the role of the CUT in such a situation is to
fight for the interests of the workers and to insist that our issues be
placed high on the priority list of the new government.
I agree with this concept. And for me this means that the CUT will have
to preserve its complete independence vis-a-vis the government and the
employers if it is to be a true champion of the workers and of the
immense aspirations expressed on Oct. 27.
To address your question more directly, the CUT national leadership
meeting affirmed the neeed for the CUT to remain "autonomous"
in relation to the new government. This was very positive. CUT
Secretary-Treasurer Vaccari stated specifically, "We are not in
agreement with the Social Pact proposed by the FIESP [employers'
association of Sao Paulo], where every participating sector is called
upon to make concessions."
On the other hand, however, the CUT majority current put forward a
formulation whereby the CUT "must be the protagonist in defense of
the workers' interests while also stimulating the implementation of
Lula's political project." I did not support this formulation, nor
did a significant grouping of other CUT leaders.
This is an equivocating and potentially very problematic formulation.
Yes, we hope that the new government will implement policies consistent
with the needs of the workers and oppressed sectors of Brazil. But
whatever the policies implemented by the new government, the CUT must
remain totally independent of the government at all times.
For example, Lula has made the fight against hunger one of his top
priorities. I fully agree with this policy objective. Millions of our
compatriots go to bed with severe hunger pangs every night.
But to attain this goal should the public sector workers be forced to
agree to make concessions? Should they have to back off from pressing
their demands for wage increases and better working conditions, as all
too many voices in the Lula transition team have suggested? Should the
organized sectors of the working class -- which some have described as
the "privileged" sectors -- be forced to accept cuts in their
healthcare and social security benefits in the name of "civil
society's fight against hunger," as is being suggested with
all-too-much frequency?
We in the CUT must say "No!" We must say that the bosses must
shoulder the burden of the fight against hunger. They have made out like
bandits over the past eight years of the Cardoso government, not to
mention the years of the military dictatorship before that. The working
class, including its organized sectors in the trade unions, have had to
swallow one concession and takeback after the other.
The real value of our wages has plummeted. Our working conditions have
deteriorated. Our labor rights are being trampled upon and risk being
taken away from us altogether. And all of this has occurred so that the
multinationals can continue to plunder our country, which they have done
with the help of Cardoso and his corporate buddies.
Does anyone believe for a moment that a single Real taken from the
coffers of the public-sector workers will actually go toward feeding a
hungry child? The fact is that the clamor for the public-sector workers
to take wage cuts and accept massive layoffs is coming from the IMF.
These are the people demanding such cuts so that that the foreign debt
can be paid back, so that the bankers and speculators can continue to
line their pockets on the basis of our sweat and blood. The cuts in our
social budgets will go to pay back the bankers, not to end hunger; we
must be clear about this.
I was among a group of CUT leaders who felt it was necessary to clarify
the issues under discussion at this CUT leadership meeting.
While I and others were heartened by the CUT majority current's
commitment to reaffirm the imperative need for autonomy of the CUT in
relation to the new government and the employers, we felt it necessary
to submit a resolution for a vote to make it clear that, yes, the CUT
will participate in any negotiating forum in a positive spirit -- BUT it
must do so while safeguarding its full independence and strictly with
the purpose of advancing the interests and demands of our members and of
the working class as a whole.
[See text of this resolution, along with an extensive article on this
CUT leadership meeting, in a previous OWC posting on Brazil titled,
"Brazil, Unions and Social Pact Update."]
I submitted such a resolution together with two other CUT leaders --
Luque and Julio Turra, both of whom are members, as I am, of the O
Trabalho current of the PT. Our aim in submitting this resolution was
not to promote any kind of partisan concerns or views. No. Our aim was
to help the CUT define the clearest and most appropriate stance in
relation to the new government in this most difficult and complex
situation that is developing in Brazil. Our aim was to help the CUT
better advance the interests of all working people and to help the new
government, which was elected by the people, succeed in responding to
the demands and aspirations of the workers and all the oppressed.
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