Statement by Liberdade, Socialismo e Revolução (our sister organisation in Brazil)
Bolsonaro was defeated at the polls on October 30. That is the reality of the facts, regardless of who it hurts.
The majority of Brazilian people rejected his administration, one that only produced crisis, hunger, unemployment, pandemic deaths, repression and violence. His authoritarian, racist, genocidal and anti-worker policies were defeated at the ballot box.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to ensure that this defeat is consolidated in practice. October 30 (election day) is not enough for that. Defeating Bolsonarism will be a long-term battle that needs to be fought every day.
Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge defeat and his position serves as a call for the far-right Bolsonarist hordes to take the initiative to block highways. They do this with the complicity or active support of the Federal Highway Police (Polícia Rodoviária Federal, PRF) and other police forces.
They are a minority, they in no way represent the will of the majority of the poor and working people of this country. But this minority, when active and organized, can have an impact greater than its real size.
The action of this minority is a coup attempt, which is backed up by all the Bolsonarist talk about military intervention, federal intervention, and all the authoritarian rhetoric.
Even if they don’t have the strength for a coup right now, they are building up their forces for it.
They must be stopped now, right away!
The policy of just waiting for the legal institutions to act is a profound error. We should demand that the justice system and the institutions exercise their legal obligation to guarantee the electoral result. But we should not expect too much from them.
The fact that Arthur Lira, Ciro Nogueira or Mourão, all close political accomplices of Bolsonaro, have acknowledged defeat does not represent any guarantee against an attempted coup
Only the mobilization of the working class, with all its strength, can stop the growth of such adventures in the coming hours, days and weeks, or even until January 1st, when Lula is inaugurated as president.
It is necessary to mobilize right now.
All social movements, unions, student movements, etc, should call for mobilizations to demonstrate strength, demand the unblocking of the highways and guarantee the inauguration of the new elected president.
The call by the MTST and other movements to unblock the highways with the force of the masses is correct and an example to be followed. The same goes for the action of the Brasfels shipyard workers in Angra dos Reis who unblocked the roads through collective action.
The trade union federations should prepare the struggle at the base, using the methods of working class action. We must be prepared for a general strike against the coup if necessary.
It is a mistake to fear that popular mobilization now could provide a pretext for the government to implement authoritarian exceptional measures They are already adopting such measures and are already provoking the chaos that ultimately serves a coup attempt.
We must defeat them in the streets.
We must demand the immediate punishment of all the coup plotters, starting with the president himself and his lackeys in the PRF and other repressive forces that collaborate with the coup attempt. If the president is a coup plotter, he must be removed even before January 1st, and the transition to the new government must begin now.
This mobilization must be called together with the defence of democratic freedoms, the inauguration of the new government, and the fulfilment of popular demands for wages, jobs, and improved living conditions!
