Letter to the Brazilian People
Once again we find ourselves facing a historical crossroads. The 2018 elections are a fundamental battle in the fight we have been fighting since 2015 in defense of democracy, rights and sovereignty.
The Brazil Popular Front is the product of the political unity of the popular forces in the fight against the coup and economic policy. Therefore, at a time when the coup and its protagonists are put to the test of popular vote, we can not fail to express to the Brazilian people our opinion.
The coup in Brazil is part of an international offensive of neoliberal capitalism, facing a scenario of long-term international economic crisis. In Brazil, President Dilma’s impeachment, without crime and without evidence, was the quickest way to overthrow a legitimate government that promoted social inclusion and reduction of inequalities and put in place a project of political and social backwardness without popular support.
Representatives of the ruling classes in parliament, in the judiciary, in the media led by Rede Globo and those who live from financial speculation, are the sponsors and protagonists of this coup. That is why the greatest Brazilian popular leader today is a political prisoner. They cloistered Lula to continue the assault on Brazil.
So we have clarity of what is at stake in this election, so much that we fight hard for its anticipation. And so we are united, once again, also in the electoral contest. We can not shut up or have a political position.
Since last year, we have taken up the fight in defense of former President Lula, condemned without evidence by a partial judiciary, accusing him of persecution, defending his innocence, his right to be a candidate and for his freedom. In spite of the efforts of the right and the international network, Lula remains the leading political leader in Brazil. His history and candidacy is an expression of the class struggle in Brazil. That is why he gathers around himself a growing popular support and, therefore, the best conditions to defeat the ongoing coup. That’s why he is detained. That is why we defend President Lula.
The electoral dispute, even with the diversity of candidacies, is polarized between two opposing projects. One of continuity of the policies of the coup in which the people are the problem and must pay the account of the crisis and another one that presses for the national development, based on the democracy, the sovereignty and the valorization of work.
That is why, we will raise the flag of Lula, Haddad and Manu and they will take our flag in every corner of the country. As well, we respect each entity that is part of our articulation, but that have specificities and own dynamics of participation in the electoral process.
The militancy of the social movements, through their forms of struggle and organization, must devote their best efforts to build Lula’s victory.
With a second round, we will continue to work to build an even broader unity with the left and progressive sectors to defeat the coup and return the country’s destiny to Brazilians.
It is time for the Brazilian people to decide once more on the path that the country must follow to redeem popular sovereignty, to have their vote respected and counted. The people want to be able to vote for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Fernando Haddad and Manuela d’Ávila.
Our struggle will not end in the elections. Regardless of the outcome, we will continue to build a path of unity around a project for the country and an alliance with popular, progressive and patriotic forces.
We will need a lot of struggle and unity to reverse the attacks on the working class to open a new period of democracy, inclusion, development, growth and sovereignty in Brazil.
São Paulo, August 31, 2018
Brazil Popular Front
Unofficial English Translation
Original Statement in Portugese
