Brazil

Where now for Brazil?

The World Cup has just ended in Brazil. Contrary to what we might expect the political situation remains, with the exception of the struggles of normally active groups, very calm and steady. This is, however, definitely not due to a lack of good reasons to protest. In the social media the changes were quick to be noted: the most common hashtags went from #NÃOVAITERCOPA (There will not be a World Cup) and #COPAPRAQUEM? (World Cup for whom?) to #VAITERCOPASIM (There will be a World Cup). Bit-by-bit, both the leftists and the conservative elite who insisted there would not be a World Cup, got...

World Cup begins with strikes and demonstrations

In the run up to the World Cup, the Brazilian city of São Paulo was rocked by demonstrations, riots and a subway strike. Striking workers successfully closed over half the subway stations in the city, and are threatening to strike again on the day São Paulo hosts the first match of the tournament. Angry that their wages have stagnated whilst the government spends billions on the World Cup, the strikers are demanding a 12% pay increase. With large parts of the subway closed down, congestion in the city has sky-rocketed. At its peak, it is estimated that up to 125 miles worth of traffic jams...

Solidarity with the São Paulo subway workers' strike!

Subway workers in São Paulo, Brazil, are striking to win a 12% wage increase. Their strike is now into its fifth day.

Strikers and supporters clashed with riot police on Monday 9 June, as Brazil gears up for the start of the World Cup.

Workers in other industries have also struck, facing...

Brazilian teachers face state repression

The ongoing struggle of teachers in Brazil faces increasing state repression. Teachers have been involved in continuing struggle over the past few years. In 2010 teachers in Sao Paulo were involved in strikes over pay, demonstrations every Friday were repressed by police. Starting in 2012, the union called strikes to make the government implement a minimum wage for teachers that had been voted through the parliament five years ago. This was to involve rolling action across regions of Brazil but the union pulled the action. Teachers in Sao Paulo were unhappy with the strike being pulled without...

Brazil protests continue

Mass protests in Brazil against government corruption and poor public services continue, though President Dilma Rousseff’s promises on political reform and public investment may demobilise. Meanwhile, many local authorities have backed down on public transport fare increases, the original spark for the protests. Thousands marched in over 300 cities on Sunday 30 June, to coincide with the Confederations Cup. The tournament is a dress rehearsal for the 2014 World Cup which Brazil is hosting at great expense — a focus for discontent. Rousseff and her Workers’ Party have promised a constituent...

Brazil: against power, corruption and cuts

Two hundred thousand people marched in Brazil’s biggest cities on Monday 17 June against rising public transport costs. Further demonstrations are planned on the day we go to press (Thursday 20th). Protests began at the beginning of June after Sao Paulo residents marched against an increase in the price of a single bus fare, from 3 real to 3.2 real. That issue was just a spark, bringing to the fore a number of long-standing grievances. Inflation in Brazil (a capitalist success story) is running at 15%; government corruption is widespread; the government is spending vast sums on the 2014 World...

Workers' Liberty 11 Survey

Click here to download article as pdf . International round-up: PLO goes for two states; Yugoslavia's "market socialism" crumbles; aftermath of the economic crash; crisis in Nicaragua; gains for PT in Brazil; EEC's "single market"

Socialist ecology: the life and death of Chico Mendes

Originally published in our 2000 pamphlet on environmental and climate politics, We only want the earth . On 22 December, 1988, in the north-western Brazilian town of Xapuri, in Acre state, Chico Mendes was assassinated. The leader of the local union of rubber tappers, active member of the growing Workers’ Party, and advocate of “socialist ecology”, Mendes was the sworn enemy of the landowners against whom he had fought and organised for workers’ rights all his life. His death was a tragedy, which received publicity all around the world. But his life was an inspiration. The rubber tappers are...

Great Brazilian election result

Heloisa Helena, the presidential candidate for the Party of Socialism and Freedom (P-Sol), got 6.8% of the vote - over 6.5 million people.

This is a fantastic result for the Brazilian left, indicating that the socialists expelled from the Workers Party (PT) have managed to regroup significant...

Workers’ news round-up

Brazil The Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) candidate Lula da Silva was elected president in 2002 but without a majority in Congress. To gain support for the election and then in power, the PT formed alliances with other parties. In its first two and a half years in power, the government has implemented neoliberal reforms that the PT historically had fought against, such as the partial privatisation of social security and bankruptcy reform. It is working for other unpopular reforms of education, workers’ rights and unions. Now a series of corruption scandals have further rocked the PT’s...

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