By CARLA TEIXEIRA*
The 2022 elections are aiming to reaffirm our political culture of conciliation/accommodation and personalism
They say that the PT wants to imitate Jesus and work miracles. Christ raised Lazarus of Bethany four days after he died. Lula stated that he wants to do more and better, so he decided to resurrect Geraldo Alckmin de Pindamonhangaba to be his deputy, a stinking political corpse that four years ago embittered 4% of the votes in the 2018 presidential elections. Paulo was the preferred name of the bourgeoisie who, given their mediocre electoral performance, ended up holding their noses and supporting Bolsonaro.
Supporters of this approach guarantee that attracting members of the right to the composition of the presidential ticket is essential not only to defeat Bolsonarism, but also the neoliberalism implemented through the 2016 coup. having traffic in the sectors of the right (financial market, agribusiness and others that exploit our land and our people on a daily basis). It would be a reissue of the “Letter to Brazilians” flavored with Chuchu Paulista Popsicle.
In addition to the national issue, the international situation has never been so unstable. The dispute installed by Russia and China against US imperialist domination raises spirits in a cold war that promises to be hot. In this context, Latin America becomes the preferred target of domination by the United States, whose current president defined the role by stating that “Everything south of Mexico is our garden”.
At this point in time, we all know about the US role in the Lava Jato operation and in the destabilization that facilitated the 2016 coup. Lula himself understood, after more than 580 days in prison, that imperialism is not a communist curse word, but the action blunt effect of the harmful and parasitic domination of a capitalist nation over the rest of the world.
Brazil, in particular, is a strategic target because it is the largest country in Latin America, the richest, the largest food producer, with enormous energy capacity, water resources and the one that, if independent, could drive the emancipation of the entire world. continent. At the same time that he makes an agreement with the bourgeoisie, Lula also promises to take back Petrobras and undo the neoliberal reforms that destroyed jobs and income in Brazil. Conciliator and anti-imperialist.
In the economy, Lula has been creating a market picture with a concert of nations that will certainly favor the recovery of the country devastated by the Bolsonarist destruction. This could leverage the recovery across the continent, reinforced with the announcement that Argentina intends to join the BRICS bank while the president of China stated that “The Malvinas are Argentine”. In theory, Lula's victory will mean not only the strengthening of sovereign Latin America, but the advancement of the Chinese and Russian presence on the continent. And that, make no mistake, imperialism will not allow it so easily.
In the 1970s, Juscelino Kubitschek was one of the main political and popular leaders of his time with conditions to lead a project of sovereignty for Brazil. As shown by the Truth Commission of the State of São Paulo and research conducted by USP, the military dictatorship, financed by the USA, assassinated ex-president JK through Operation Para-Sar, Operation Condor and Operation Code 12 (code used to eliminate opponents making it look like death by accident). Why wouldn't they do the same again?
The former president and current pre-candidate says he sleeps peacefully, without thinking about it, but we all have an obligation to think about it. The PT has an obligation to think. Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, suffered dozens of attacks by the CIA. And if something happens to Lula, does Alckmin take over? Upon taking office, will he maintain the anti-imperialist and anti-neoliberal policy or will he surrender to his ideological class origins? Is it really safe (politically and physically) for President Lula to have in the line of succession the dream candidate of those who carried out the coup in 2016 and supported his illegal arrest in 2018?
There are those who say that considering the idea that any tragedy could happen to Lula is working on the imponderable. I call working from historical facts that mark and characterize our cultural and sociopolitical construction over the centuries. The 2022 elections are aiming to reaffirm our political cultures of conciliation/accommodation and personalism. The figure of Lula, central to the country's reconstruction, could also become a labyrinth from which leftist political forces will not know how to get out in his absence.
The fact is that, without Lula, there is no possibility of winning the 2016 coup, whose vice-president played a decisive role in its success, and the neoliberal agenda implemented afterwards. Popular mobilization will be essential to undo the reforms, resume strategic state-owned companies and public investment. Political reform, as well as the reform of the Judiciary, the redefinition of the role of the Armed Forces, the democratization of the media and the strengthening of the State's social actions are fundamental and complex points that cannot be resolved with the approval of PECs.
In the current arrangement, it cannot be accepted that the vice-presidency of the republic becomes the anteroom of the coup d'état against the project of emancipation of Brazil. The 2022 elections should be the space for mobilization and formation of mass consciousness about the need for profound and structural changes in our country.
Winning in October could mean the first step towards the gateway that will lead the nation to a National Constituent Assembly – this one, indeed, truly free and exclusive –, with the protagonism of the people: our gateway to consolidate democracy and the sovereignty of the Brazil and throughout Latin America.
* Carla Teixeira is a doctoral student in history at UFMG.