with them, among others, was sustained.
Popular fronts were built against the
coup, firstly in 2015, and then for Lula’s
release (“Lula livre”) and against the legal
persecution (lawfare) to which he was
subjected.
The strategic loyalty of these
movements to the political camp was
admirable and constituted a central
rearguard in the adverse political situation
they had faced since the fall of Dilma. This
period had been marked by a generalised
rollback of the social achievements of
the PT governments. The onslaught of
right-wing governments weakened these
movements, but they have resisted and
continue to be a fundamental pillar of the
struggle against fascism and neoliberalism
in Brazil.
The Bolsonaros administration
failed. It failed mainly on the economy -
he did not even fulfill what he promised
to the neoliberal businessmen. He failed
with the denialist policies implemented
during the pandemic, and with his
unrestricted support for the most savage
anti-environmental and anti-indigenous
agribusiness and in favour of weapons and
violence. And he has become increasingly
discedited internationally.
All of this, together with his anti-
democratic rhetoric and threats, made
him lose the support of the Brazilian
liberal establishment and of a large part
of the population. This created a space to
rehabilitate Lula’s administration, which
is remembered as one of the best in the
history of Brazil. This combination of
factors explains the possibility of winning
the elections again.New generations
The “return of Lula”, has proved vital
to defeat Bolsonaro - who retains the
loyalty of at least 30% of the electorate. It
shows the significance of his leadership
in Brazilian politics over the last 40 years
and the relevance of his party and its allies
in the traditional social and trade union
movement.
However it is not enough to solve
issues raised by other social and political
transformations that have occurred
in recent years and that are related to
generational changes. The generation of
the “PT cycle”, as well as Lula himself,is “old” and, despite the strength of the
leader, there is a significant gap between
these leaders and the new expressions of
social and political militancy.
These new expressions are
fundamentally rooted in the struggles for
racial, gender and LGBTQ+ equality and
the rights of indigenous peoples. From
2013 onwards, they have become more
prominent, and they have channeled the
militant energy of the new generations,
who find in these struggles a way to enter
politics or social militancy.
These new leaders, young, trans,black, indigenous and others, have
organised themselves at the municipal
level. They have begun to contest elections
in the vacuum left by the PT, which
had been the party that had until then
channeled the popular side of the “social
conflict”. Representatives have devised
collective forms of representation and
used the available parties to participate in
electoral contests. Some of them used the
PT, but the PT was in general an obstacle as
far as the electorate was concerned. They
were still mostly “antipetista”.
In this way, parties such as PSOL,
Rede, PCdoB, Partido Verde, and even
others more to the centre, contested the
elections in a much more expressive way
than the PT, which, due to its size and
institutional rigidity, made it difficult
for independent candidates to enter
their own lists. After an electoral cycle,
these representatives
have begun to compete
for state and federal
positions and represent- together with anti-
Bolsonarism - the voices
of political and social
renewal of the Brazilian
Left.
Lula’s return and
his possible election
“interfere” with and, in
some ways, postpone
this renewal. But it will
inevitably take place over
the next few years. And
we will see how a possible
Lula administration
will dialogue with these
new generations, either
by incorporating them
harmoniously, or as part
of a more conflictual
process of change.
There is a new
political and militant
power in the process
of maturing. It is a
“mini-cycle”, started in
2013, that is struggling
to grow. It may do so in the heat of the
Lula government; it may do so through
criticism of it. But in one or other scenario,
it will certainly do so through the struggle
against the conservative and reactionary
forces that Bolsonaro resurrected,
turning them into a mass actor and a
constant threat to democracy and social
emancipation in Brazil.
Gonzalo Berrón is an Associate
Fellow of the Transnational Institute,
working in Brazil.Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gives a
speech to union workers in São
Paulo, on Workers’ day, 2022.
The large social movements
never abandoned Lula.Perspectives for the left