Brazil in a vortex

For many years, Brazil has been billed as a successful model of capitalist development, democratic transformation and political stability by the international capitalist ruling class and institutions like the World Bank and the IMF.

The resounding victory of the Workers’ Party (PT) led by Lula da Silva in the presidential and parliamentary elections offered a new ray of hope to the reformist forces, not only in Latin America but also across the globe. The working class had pinned their hopes on the Lula-led PT as a vehicle for economic development in the country.

However, the recession of 2008 and its ultimate consequences changed a great deal in Brazil. The hopes and illusions of a better future turned into disappointment and disillusionment. The ruling class tried to shift the burden of this economic crisis onto the working classes. The poor and the working class rebelled against this new wave of austerity and privatisation as well as frequent attacks on welfare programmes. This process intensified the struggle between the working class and ruling class and also produced tensions among the ruling class.

Disagreements among various sections of the capitalist ruling class intensified as the right-wing section accused the PT leadership of instigating the mass struggles by the people against the regime’s halfhearted policies and efforts to implement a neoliberal economic agenda. Although Lula was not a “conscious factor” in the radicalisation of the mass struggle or even a consistent opponent of the current political and economic order, he has been victimised for this alleged crime.

The right-wing section of the capitalist ruling class, who wanted to implement large-scale counter reforms, struck up an alliance with right-wing elements within the state apparatus to organise a soft coup against former president Dilma Rousseff and the reformist wing. The leader of the soft coup – the then vice president Michel Temer – was chosen by Lula and the PT as a candidate. The overtly right-wing and pro-austerity elements within the PT aligned themselves with the big bourgeoisie to oust Dilma and introduce an openly anti-working class and anti-poor regime.

The big bourgeoisie demanded a lot more than what the PT government was able to deliver. They not only wanted to maintain their privileges in a climate of apparent social conciliation, but also wanted to impose a drastic defeat on the working class – a historic step backwards from an economic, political and social standpoint.

Temer’s corrupt and unpopular government served this purpose by giving the green light to a labour counter-reforms; freezing public spending; initiating privatisation schemes; and handing over public wealth to foreign capital. But the project of big capital goes beyond these measures. For the bourgeoisie, it is essential that there is no risk of similar attacks from any future government in the 2018 elections. Despite Lula’s preference for neoliberal policies, he cannot defend the deepening of these policies – even if he wanted to. As a popular candidate for the 2018 elections, he has to be removed from the political equation.

Despite the surge in government propaganda, Brazil’s economic crisis continues to deepen and the only form of escape for capitalists is to strengthen their attacks against the working class. Standard & Poor’s, a rating agency, has once again slashed Brazil’s credit rating. It has cited the delays in approving “fiscal equilibrium” reforms, the growth of public debt, and the ambiguity surrounding the 2018 elections as the reasons for an increased risk of investment in the country. The market is placing excessive pressure on the government and parliamentarians to accelerate measures of fiscal adjustment, especially the approval of pension reforms.

The official unemployment rate of 12 percent is already high and also obscures the large increase in the casual labour. The labour reforms, which came into force in November, have paved the way for exploitation and more unsafe work conditions. Public services are increasingly being done away with. In addition, most public sector workers have received no wage adjustments while others are their receiving wages amid delays. Violence and police repression has prevailed in popular neighbourhoods. This has added to the massive outrage against the current system and produced a convulsive situation in Brazil.

The crisis in the economy reverberates through the political crisis. A section of the bourgeoisie, which is aligned to American imperialism and adheres to its policy of ‘spring-cleaning’, has found itself in a stalemate. After taking steps to end the Temer government, it does not have a unity candidate who is capable of addressing the situation.

The political crisis has deepened over time. At this juncture, the Temer government remains unpopular and the incompetence of various institutions under this regime has been exposed. The politicians are dejected with the state of affairs and the ruling class remains divided. The Federal Tribunal in Brazil has upheld the conviction of Lula da Silva in the Lava Jato corruption case.

It is difficult for the right-wing section of the ruling classes to hide the political motivation behind this conviction. The objective of Lula’s conviction is to eliminate him from the presidential elections of 2018. The reason is simple: that he remains the most popular candidate in Brazil and continues to lead all the opinion polls.

This decision is part of a project that deepens the attacks and counter-reforms against the workers in the interests of big businesses amid one of the worst crises in the history of the country. The purpose of the Lava Jato criminal investigation is to perform a “general cleansing” that appears to renew the political system to save the institutions from disrepute.

This operation appears to be driven by bourgeoisie-imperialist political and economic aims. But instability in the country has deepened as the bourgeoisie are mired in a stalemate and the class struggle is gaining momentum.

The writer is a freelance journalist.