Brazil Torn Between Adjustment Or Coup

by Carlos Aznárez

What is happening in Brazil these days is an old recipe from a textbook. A textbook that could be called “Handbook for Soft Coups, Light Coups, and other varieties,” one which the empire, with the help its local accomplices, has put in practice time after time in Latin America and other corners of the world. Dilma Rousseff, elected through popular vote, is being attacked from many flanks. The right is using many resources to harass her, such as massively taking to the streets of mains cities, singing songs in favor of a coup d’état and waving US flags (which leaves absolutely no doubts on who is behind these actions) or doing the Nazi salute, not as a joke but as a reaffirmation of their beliefs.

São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other central points have once again filled with the Brazilian flag’s colors, this time not to celebrate a football victory, but to cheer for “change” —a very fashionable word, that can mean various things, in this case, changing this progressive government for a new government from another political sign. Behind these “popular” demonstrations (as the most villainous journalists of O Globo network described them) we can find the protagonist of media terrorism, which now is attacking Dilma and Lula by using some facts grounded on reality (among them, the continuous acts of corruption of some officers and leaders of the Worker’s Party), to generate a smear campaign in which facts get mixed with infamy.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, there is something more: the announced “impeachment,” or political trial against the President, promoted by the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha (from the “allied” government party, the right-wing, social-democratic, Brazilian Democratic Movement Party), which now seems to be moving forward with a green light and in the coming hours it is very likely that Dilma will have to build a solid defense if she wants to avoid being impeached.

On the other side, the “hope” of the Worker’s party, and Dilma herself, former President Lula da Silva, has been unable to avoid being harassed himself. To prevent this, the right counts on judge Sergio Moro, “researcher” of the corruption case in Petrobras, which has one eye on Lula and the other on Dilma. If Moro could chose, they would both be in jail, despite the lack of the slightest evidence —this is also part of the “soft coups,” which are not so soft after all. Moro is more like an agent of a foreign intelligence agency that an impartial judge dedicated to the administration of justice (in this aspect, he is similar to the deceased Argentine Fiscal Nisman), and using his powers as federal judge he ordered the mock raid with 200 policemen on Lula’s house, forcibly bringing Lula to his office.

One of Moro’s colleagues, Itagiba Catta Preta Neto, raised the bet and tried to prevent Lula from being Chief of Staff, and accused Dilma Rousseff of trying to block justice. Under what evidence? An illegal tapping of a conversation between the President and Lula. After having been spied on by the US some time ago, she should have taken precautions and not use the phone as if it was Facebook, but nevertheless it’s obvious that those who heard, leaked and set up a destructive campaign have the odor, once again, of foreign intelligence services.

With such a scenario, it’s worth dedicating some thought to this disturbing and dangerous situation, in which the United States and its local buffoons are trying to make a perfect operation, adding in just over two months, a couple of new stars to its emblematic flag. Firstly, Argentina, now led by the dutiful student Mauricio Macri, and now Brazil, led by whomever (there are several candidates in line) or whomever best contributed to an eventual overthrow of the current government.

First of all, we have to acknowledged, that among the very own lines of the government, the enemy’s speech has strongly infiltrated. How else could we understand the adjustment plans promoted by “Chicago Boy” Joaquín Levy, who was appointed against the will of every single one of Dilma’s left-wing voters, a group to whom Dilma had appealed in the last electoral campaign to “stop the advance of the right.” Then, she replaced neoliberal Levy with someone identical, Nelson Barbosa, once again insulting the workers, peasants, students, who demanded a turn to the left to avoid exactly what’s happening right now. Betting on maintaining capitalism with a progressive speech is no longer viable and it’s high time that Presidents of Latin America noted that down. Capitalism is neither soft, nor light nor sympathetic, it’s wild and when it has to get rid of those who claim to sustain a soft version of it, it does it with no compunction.

The second major abnormality of this and other similar governments is the naturalization of corruption among their own ranks. Whether it’s a senior official swiping R$6 billion, or a treasurer of the party behind bars for pocketing higher figures, this is not an operation of the right, it simply takes advantage of a more than weak side that should be addressed by the left itself with more severity than anybody else.

If parties need funding, their leaders should squeeze their brains to see how they can get it, but in the popular field, in no way can it be tolerated that somebody is known to be corrupt and not doing anything about it.

The third and very serious flaw is that all these setbacks cause disenchantment and inaction within our own ranks, and in that sense, the right has launched its plan to win over the street massively. That is very dangerous, because one of the fundamental characteristics of those who call themselves “the left”, is not so much being eager to take on seats and institutions, but always be ready to take to the streets, as the MST in Brazil and all organizations that make up the Brazil’s Popular Front have proven very well. These organizations were not wrong in their analyses, precisely because they are at the grassroots, they are the grassroots, and at the same time they represent the only guarantee that this government will not fall, as Yankees expect.

This said, and facing the severity of the current situation, it is useless to rub the wounds caused by the severe shortcomings of “our” governments, that sometimes do not seem very “ours”, but it’s still necessary to avoid having them overthrown. Because in their fall, as happened with the Argentine case, they are dragging the rest of us. Everything that comes next is more misery and unemployment for the humblest, it’s extreme neoliberalism; or, to be more clear, it’s 2 or 3 times worse than Mauricio Macri because, for those who don’t know the Brazilian right, they are capable of causing a great deal of damage. Something similar would happen in Venezuela if the opposition arrived in government, or in Cuba if the “worms” took it over. The United States wants to stay with Brazil and the Amazon, and if all alarms are not ringed and the street is not occupied, as are already doing thousands of popular militants (repudiating the rightist coup but not forgetting about the current setting), complaining afterwards will be in vain.

Despite all this, it’s not the same to have a government plagued by ideological constraints, which instead of coddling the capital should embrace those fighting against it and those who want socialism, than having a completely fascist government, that is friends with the Pacific Alliance, the free trade agreements that produce more dependence and a foreign policy of carnal relations with the US, while condemning Venezuela, Cuba and other ALBA countries. They are not the same, so we should not have any doubts in supporting the social and popular organizations that are currently willing to become a wall to stop fascism from taking over Brazil.

Against the coup, a crowd on the streets

Like back in the best times, in front of a rally that beat expectations, former president Lula Da Silva called to respect democracy and the popular vote. Shortly afterwards, a judge of the Supreme Court allied to the opposition blocked his appointment once again.

“There will be no coup”, said Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva with energy as he spoke last Friday in São Paulo against a possibly larger crowd than expected by the organizers of the event, which surely came as a blow to those who have taken for granted the imminent fall of president Dilma Rousseff. “On Tuesday, I’ll show Dilma a photo of this act so she knows that here in San Pablo, there are many people that want her to govern this country, and that there will be no coup”, Lula said when closing his speech, and the crowd responded unanimously “there will be no coup, no coup.”

Carlos Aznárez is a journalist and the director/editor of the magazine Summary Latin American and Third World (http: // www resumenlatinoamericano.org/). This article was originally published in The Dawn on March 18, 2016.

Photos from the demonstrations throughout Brazil in defense of democracy: