by Miguel Lamas, 4 June 2021
Organised by the III National Plenary for the Organisation of Popular Struggles, huge demonstrations took place in all the major cities of Brazil. The biggest one was on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, united by the slogan “Fora Bolsonaro”. The organising space brings together the CUT (the main trade union centre) and the other trade union centres, the UNE (National Student Union) and popular movements. And the second day of struggle has already been called for 19 June.
Brazil was the country with the most deaths because of the pandemic and at the moment over 2,000 people are still dying every day (a month ago it was over 4,000 a day). And Bolsonaro has an anti-vaccine policy. But the people are also suffering the economic consequences of hunger, wage cuts, cuts in health and education budgets, as well as violent police repression (30 people shot dead by the police in the favela Jacarezinho in Rio de Janeiro on 8 May).
While the Bolsonaro government governs in favour of the bosses, bankers and multinationals, it plans to privatise the post office and the electricity company and to attack the working conditions of state employees. And on top of all, there is a big corruption with secret budgets to benefit friends and allies.
The Socialist Workers’ Current (CST-PSOL), a section of the IWU-FI, calls for a mass mobilisation on 19 June, demanding vaccines, patents waving for COVID vaccines, against cuts in education and health budgets, a ban on wage cuts and lay-offs, against police violence, for taxes on the big fortunes, against the payment of the debt to allocate these funds to social areas, and for Bolsonaro out!
In addition, it calls on the trade unions to organise the IV meeting of organisations, incorporating grassroots delegates, to discuss the continuity of the struggle to defeat Bolsonaro and his anti-popular fiscal austerity plan.
