Brazil

We publish a statement of the Marxist Left in Brazil (Esquerda Marxista), which is addressed to Lula and the government, condemning their approach to the crisis in Bolivia and calling on them to support the revolution.

A group of 113 professors, teachers, lawyers, writers, artists and trade unionists, among them members of the Black Socialist Movement and the Esquerda Marxista tendency, have signed an open letter expressing their concern at the Federal Supreme Court's latest proposals on "racial quotas".

The Movement of the Occupied Factories in Brazil is a glorious chapter in the struggle of the working class. Last year the courts and the police intervened in an attempt to smash the movement. In spite of everything it still survives at the Flaskô plastics factory in Sumaré, Sao Paulo. Here we provide an account of the struggle of the Flaskô workers and background to the movement as a whole.

Adilson Mariano is a PT councillor in the town of Joinville, Brazil. He has been sentenced to more than one year in prison for having led demonstrations against the unjustified increase in bus fares. Here we publish an appeal and model letter for you to send off to the authorities. Please participate massively in this campaign.

At the beginning of February the Esquerda Marxista (Marxist Left) group in Brazil held its congress, where they unanimously voted in favour of their affiliation to the International Marxist Tendency. The addition of this important grouping, which gathers within its ranks leaders of the occupied factories, of the Black Socialist Movement, important trade unionists and many revolutionary youth, marks a major milestone in the building of a genuine Marxist International in Latin America and the world.

José Carlos Miranda of the Black Socialist Movement and Roque José Ferreira of the FNITST-CUT (Railway workers), spoke in the Brazilian parliament against the new race laws being proposed by the government on November 26. Here we provide the videos.

After 40 days of suffering and struggle, the workers of Flasko (the worker-occupied factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil) managed to re-establish electricity supply to the factory from the CPFL electricity company.

We have received the latest Bulletin of the Occupied Factories in Brazil (in Portuguese and PDF format) dedicated to the struggle to regain control of CIPLA and Interfibra after the judge imposed an administrator and sacked all the delegates to the Factory Councils. Download the bulletin here.

On June 29, the workers of Flasko received good news: the federal judge José Maria Barreto Pedrazolli, from the Campinas/SP circuit, ruled that the electricity company CPFL should reestablish electricity supply "in the face of clear danger of damage" to the factory.

In this video interview (in Spanish), Serge Goulart, the national coordinator of the Occupied Factories Movement in Brazil gives an overview of the latest situation of the struggle against the decision of the Lula government to organise a judicial-police intervention against CIPLA and Interfibra and the attacks on the workers at Flaskó.

The court appointed administrator at Cipla has been at it again. After being expelled from Flasko after an attempt to sack the Factory Committee there, he has now threatened to “crush” the workers. Facing pressure from all side, the workers at Flasko are standing firm in the defence of workers’ control, their jobs, and their factories.

Flasko workers have successfully defended their factory for a second time. You can see video footage of yesterday’s event and read an appeal from the workers for solidarity in defending the factory and their jobs.

The newly appointed administrator of Cipla/Interifbra recently visited Flasko, another occupied factory, and attempted to sack the general coordinator of the Factory Council. The intention is clear, the Brazilian ruling class wants to crush the occupied factory movement. Urgent solidarity is needed to defend the workers, their jobs, and the occupied factory movement.