Brazilian Left-Wing Parties Issue Joint Manifesto Against President Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In Brazil, the leaders and representatives of various left-wing parties, including Fernando Haddad (Workers’ Party, PT), Ciro Gomes (Democratic Labor Party, PDT), Guilherme Boulos (Socialism and Liberty Party, PSOL) and Flavio Dino (Communist Party of Brazil, PC do B), published a “Common Manifesto of the Left-wing for Bolsonaro’s Resignation”.

The manifesto also includes proposals to the government to address the coronavirus crisis. The initiative was supported by 64 legislators from seven parties.

Along with the publication of the manifesto, a platform was also launched through which all Brazilians may join, as well as an ongoing campaign on social media. The left-wing’s joint action is a first since the last presidential elections in 2018.

Strikingly, Brazil’s ex-president and former PT leader, Lula da Silva, is not among them. A possible reason for this could be that without Lula, other parties would support the initiative, as they have repeatedly seen in his statements the PT’s claim to be the sole representative of the left-wing.

In their joint action, the parties accuse the President of worsening the nationwide emergency caused by the coronavirus crisis through irresponsible policies. By deliberately spreading misinformation and lies, he is promoting chaos and exploiting the despair of the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

Bolsonaro is increasingly alone in his opposition to restrictions to contain the pandemic, even within his own government.

As a result of Bolsonaro’s inaction, the Manifesto’s signatories are calling for the “unity of popular and democratic political forces” around a National Emergency Plan and the implementation of the following measures:

• Reduction of social contacts for as long as necessary and in line with scientific guidelines;
• Expansion of intensive care units, massive testing, and protective equipment for professionals and the population;
• Introduction of a permanent basic income for the unemployed and casual workers, with special attention to indigenous peoples, quilombolas (Afro-Brazilian residents of former slave settlements) and the homeless, who are more vulnerable;
• Suspension of the collection of fees for basic services for the most deprived during the crisis;
• Ban on lay-offs with State aid in the payment of salaries to the most affected sectors and State aid to medium, small and micro enterprises;
• Increase taxes on great fortunes, profits, and dividends;
• Compulsory loans payable by private banks and use of the state treasury to cover health and social security expenditure, in addition to selective and careful review of tax relief when the economy is normalized.

Source: Fórum