(en) Rafael Braga: another victim of state terrorism Brazilian by FARJ (pt)

 [machine translation]

On 25 and 26 August, a demonstration was scheduled to press the ruling on the appeal 
against the conviction of the only prisoner by the demonstrations still imprisoned in 
Brazil: Rafael Braga. Rafael was arrested during demonstrations in June 2013, "carrying" a 
bottle of pine sun and other alcohol, cleaners that were transformed by the police, even 
after the expertise to see that they were plastic and little potential flammable bottles, 
a "possible Molotov ". The vigil was held in front of the Court of Justice, bringing 
together activists, independent artists and several popular movements. Despite the 
mobilization of various groups and organizations, justice, straddling increasingly his 
true face, upheld the conviction of Rafael and decreased only four months of his sentence.

We, like many revolutionary militants have no illusions with bourgeois justice. We know 
that justice is racist and classist the toes to the hair strands and operates on a system 
of domination. We know that whenever blacks and poor that are tried, convicted and 
imprisoned, so when they are not killed by the military police (which is the institution 
that applies the death penalty for poor and blacks in Brazil). We know that justice can 
only be pressed with the organized popular struggle, occupying the streets and makes those 
in power being placed against the wall. We know that the arrests were made, as would the 
anarchist Peter Kropotkin, to extinguish all the qualities that makes it a very being for 
social life and that the first duty of the revolution, "when the relations of capital and 
labor has radically changed if "will be to" end these monuments of hypocrisy."

But the fact is that the conviction of Rafael was not the only (yet) for nothing. Workers 
and Black youth have always been the hardest hit by the genocide promoted by the Brazilian 
state. And the conviction that young, unemployed, homeless and black aims to give a 
message to the youth and people. It is the account of the bill in June 2013, slamming the 
door and being paid the hard way, the sector that is most affected by capital and the state.

What is expected at this point is that the whole of the left do not forget Rafael Braga 
and actively work for their release. This is not a task for a single organization or 
social movement, but, of all the fighters. The vigil, attended by only a few dozen people 
rather than hundreds, could have been much more effective if part of the left, instead of 
betting chips in their election campaigns, was strengthening class solidarity. But we need 
to portray reality as it actually is: rarely left the electoral struggle is during 
elections. Even with the speech that "struggling in the polls and in the streets" or that 
they are building "people power", which is seen in most cases this period is the only 
power play partisan militancy in their candidates campaign, emptying thus, the actual 
fight. And this is real fighting, just this, the organization and articulation of the 
people occupying the streets, squares and avenues, mobilization and marches that changes 
reality. The left, we know, has its corporatism, their privileges, their "vices" and 
rarely wants to discuss them in a frank way. Many unions, who could have taken over and 
given weight to this fight, for example, disappeared. This happens because certain union 
bureaucrats are more concerned with their own demands. Sympathy strikes, common in the 
combative and revolutionary syndicalism memory, today are only a pale reminder of the past.

However, criticism should be broader. The number of people mobilized by Rafael Braga, was 
in fact much smaller than at other times of struggle, which led to great disappointment to 
those present at the 26th TJ who expected great demonstrations. We should all reflect on 
that. As the saying goes: "We're together, but not completely mixed." And those who have 
less visibility militant receive proportionally smaller class solidarity.
That class solidarity exceed the differences. We can continue pressing for the release of 
Rafael Braga! This is also our defeat. But the walk too.

Justice is not blind or neutral! It is bourgeois!

Liberate Rafael Braga!