With Lula da Silva, time returns to the left …

From Rio de Janeiro. Lula’s full return to political life changes the terms of political clashes. Until then, the center of the clashes was within the framework of the right, between Bolsonaro and the sectors of the right which, supporting his economic policy, diverged from his style of government. Between Bolsonaro and the judiciary, between Bolsonaro and Congress, between Bolsonaro and the media.

Faced with these clashes, the left had to position itself, still against Bolsonaro. But he was not the protagonist. It was a concrete facade, in which the right set the conditions for the confrontation with Bolsonaro. The horizon of the struggle was limited by the right against the far right, which did not affect the government’s economic policy. He collided with the authoritarian tendencies of Bolsonaro.

The reappearance of Lula changes the terms of debates and confrontations. The fact that right-wing politicians love Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Antonio Delfim Netto, Rodrigo Paes, Gilberto Kassab, chose to vote for Lula in the second round, represents a significant defection of the right and the will to consider Lula as a less bad option, compared to Bolsonaro.

The division of the right is another symptom of the loss of the narrative and hegemonic capacity of the right.. His discourse on fighting politics and corruption has lost the ability to gain and maintain a majority in society. Bolsonaro’s loss of support does not prevent him from continuing to have, at least in the polls, a level of support which, as in 2018, makes him the main opponent of the left, the Workers’ Party and Lula. The rest, who are usually candidates seeking to express a so-called third way, are divided, unable to provide meaningful political and social support. In the last poll, in which Lula leads on Bolsonaro, only 12% remain for the other candidates. They are maintaining their candidacies because they believe that at some point the right can abandon Bolsonaro overwhelmingly and look for alternatives.

The left needs to understand the new possibility open to it and to take up the challenges. First, as Lula points out, focus now on the urgent needs of the population: emergency aid, employment, vaccines. Identify yourself with the emergencies of the mass of the population, abandoned by the government.

The fight for the removal of Bolsonaro must not be abandoned by the left. Bolsonaro’s control of Congress is more fragile given the lack of control over the pandemic, expressed in statements, including by the Speaker of the House, whom Bolsonaro trusted to stop impeachment. Reveal how the Centrão is affected by the wear and tear of the Bolsonaro and he will abandon it if this usury compromises his electoral support.

An impechmant depends on another factor, absent for the moment: the quarantine prevents Bolsonaro’s rejection of promoting large street protests. Cacerolazos are an example of how this rejection spreads and becomes more vigorous. But the climate in which the majority no longer supports Bolsonaro requires street mobilization, which should not return for a few months.

But certain circumstances can spark the spark that quickly spreads a climate that makes impeachment viable.. Most entrepreneurs are very unhappy. The vast majority of the media too. It will be essential that Bolsonaro’s parliamentary support base is broken.

Beyond this possibility, which could save Brazil from its current suffering, the left must reflect on the possibility that the political dispute will lead to the elections of 2022. Until then, the first responsible attitude of the left must be that of the unity of all forces, which can only happen today around Lula, the great candidate of the left.

With a broad proposal for the reconstruction of the country, a country destroyed in every way, which the left will receive as a legacy of six years of neoliberal destruction in Brazil. It is not only a question of a political front of forces, but also of a great social alliance around those who are in favor of the restoration of democracy, the economic and social reconstruction of the country, the resumption of economic development, with social policies of income distribution and the creation of income and jobs.

The left must present itself to the country as the only force capable of uniting the majority of the country to assert democracy, grow the economy, face inequalities and regain the image of Brazil in the world. The Brazilian left needs a big victoryHopefully in the first round, because it will be a defeat not only for the far right and the right, but directly for the military, who have joined the adventure of the Bolsonaro government.

The left must assert a large majority restore democracy, promote the demilitarization of the Brazilian state, put an end to the financialization of the economy and re-impose a productive dynamic, fight against inequalities, create jobs, promote the rights of all.