In the Lula gov't, but critical

In an atmosphere throughout Latin America of growing resistance to Washington's attempt to impose economic and military dominance on the continent, the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) held its 11th National Congress Oct. 20-23 in Brasilia.

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB).

From the continued heroic resistance of socialist Cuba to the profound Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela, from mass upsurges that reversed governments in Bolivia and Ecuador to the elections of governments in Argentina and Uruguay that have thrown up obstacles to International Monetary Fund and U.S. demands, people south of the U.S. border have refused to submit to U.S. imperialist pressures.

In Brazil this resistance led to the 2002 election of Luis Ignacio "Lula" da Silva as president. A former steel worker and leader of the Workers Party (PT), he won almost 61 percent of the vote. A central point of political discussion at the PCdoB Congress was the complicated relationship between this party and the Lula government, which it supports.

The PCdoB has 250,000 members. Some 70,000 take active part in party discussions and organization; they are called "militants."

At the congress, 1,097 delegates elected by the members discussed the party's political program for the coming period and proposed changes in its organizational structure. The new party structure defines more precisely the different rights and responsibilities of the ordinary members and the militants.

World imperialism claims that communism is dead. Yet the PCdoB has more than doubled its membership in the last four years. It is 3.5 times bigger than it was at the 9th Party Congress in 1997.

The delegates came from all 27 Brazilian states. They reflected all the various peoples of Brazil, including Indigenous, Afro Brazilian, Arab and East Asian. The many young comrades present at this leadership meeting indicated that the party in general must be quite young.

Some 80 people making up delegations from 45 countries were also present. Most represented communist parties and revolutionary and progressive organizations.

Among them were representatives of the ruling parties of Cuba, China, Vietnam, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Angola. The U.S. delegation included Workers World Party and the Communist Party USA.

Enthusiasm for the struggle

Enthusiastic cheers punctuated nearly every speech from the rank-and-file delegates and party officials, speeches always delivered with great feeling for the class struggle in Brazil. Some of the most enthusiastic comrades had traveled long and far from the Amazon region.

It took one group from Acre as much as five days by boat and bus to get to the point where they could fly to the country's capital. These comrades emphasized the need to struggle on environmental questions, so much so that the congress held a special discussion on the issue.

The goals of the congress were to win support for the PCdoB's general political positions from this representative body, to carry out changes in how the party is organized and to elect a new Central Committee. All these questions were discussed among thousands of the party's rank and file in the months leading up to the congress.

Brazil is about the size of the lower 48 states of the United States, with a population of 185 million people. It has a relatively developed capitalist economy, but one whose foreign debt to the imperialist banks is the greatest in the world.

Brazil borders on 10 other South American countries; it has enormous military, economic and diplomatic weight.

A right-wing military dictatorship ran the country from 1964 to 1985. During that time the PCdoB, described as "Maoist" in that period, was outlawed, and organized a guerrilla war in one of the Amazon states.

This congress commemorated the life of the PCdoB's historic leader, Joao Amazonas, who led that guerrilla struggle and who died after the 10th Congress.

It is only possible here to summarize the PCdoB's general analysis of the political situation. This analysis was presented by Secretary General Renato Rebelo and other party leaders at the conference, and at a special meeting with the foreign delegations in the National Parliament building.

In government and social movements

The PCdoB, reviewing world developments since the 1989-91 counter-revolution in the USSR and Eastern Europe, says that despite the positive examples of Cuba's defense of its independence, the developments in Bolivarian Venezuela and the success of the Iraqi resistance, the world balance of power is still unfavorable for socialist revolution; it is a period to "gather strength."

Under these conditions, the PCdoB believes that the best choice for Brazil today is to continue to support the Lula government. The PCdoB believes that Lula’s foreign policy is progressive and that the alternative to Lula would be a rightist, pro-U.S., neoliberal regime that could isolate Venezuela and Cuba and leave Brazil wide open for imperialist penetration. The PCdoB hasn't yet openly challenged Brazil’s participation in the ongoing occupation of Haiti.

This choice is further complicated because—although Lula received 61 percent of the vote in the second round of the 2002 election—the center and right-wing parties that oppose any progressive steps control both the upper and lower houses of Parliament and 24 of the 27 state governments in Brazil. And the big financial institutions can limit changes and sabotage the economy.

Lula has attended every PCdoB congress since 1989. This time, as president of Brazil, Lula was the main speaker at the opening session. He thanked the PCdoB for its loyal support, to the enthusiastic applause of the delegates. He spoke under the PCdoB banner with its hammer and sickle and the slogans, "A renewed party, a socialist future, a sovereign Brazil."

Despite this support, Gustavo Petto, the PCdoB leader in charge of workers, peasants and other social movements, criticized the Lula government for its shortcomings. The PCdoB says it will be in the government and, at the same time, through the social movements and labor unions, will pressure the government to take more progressive positions regarding resistance to imperialism and defending workers' and peasants' rights.

PCdoB leader heads parliament

Throughout the summer the right-wing parties, which have a reputation of ingrained corruption, and the media carried out a vicious, hypocritical attack on Lula and his party, the PT, for indiscretions in campaign funding. The crisis threatened to bring down the Lula government. Support from the PCdoB was essential in saving the government.

A PCdoB representative in Parliament, Aldo Rebelo, was then elected president of that body, something the party celebrated at its congress.

In its written program and in the congress discussion, the PCdoB expressed an acute awareness of the dangers that participation in a capitalist government pose to a communist party. It has taken steps in its party rules that it says will strengthen democratic centralism and reduce this threat.

Twelve members of the PCdoB have been elected to the National Parliament's lower house of 513 members. Six of the 12 are women. But many delegates at the congress spoke of the need to have more women in the leading bodies of the party. Afro-Brazilian comrades also spoke of the need to give higher priority to fighting racism in Brazilian society.

By all appearances, these important points were undergoing full discussion in the PCdoB.

While the PCdoB faces many challenges in implementing its policies in the coming period, the results will depend not only on what happens in Brazil. Any advances in the struggle worldwide will affect Brazilian society. Not least important will be any increase in the workers' struggle and the anti-imperialist movement in the United States, which could be of great assistance to advancing the struggle for Brazil's sovereignty and thus aiding the struggle for socialism.