When it comes to the privatization of public services and attacks on thehttps://socialismolibertario.net/2023/11/28/contra-as-privatizacoes-e-o-avanco-da-exploracao-construir-a-unidade-entre-servidores-terceirizados-e-populacao/ _________________________________________ A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E By, For, and About Anarchists Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
oppressed classes, all political parties, in the management of the State, are very well aligned. With less than a year of the Lula-Alckmin government, the illusions created by the electoral defeat of Bolsonaro and the military are being dispelled. Contrary to campaign promises, the privatization agenda is moving forward, worsening working conditions and the quality of services provided to the population. There is no doubt that this "broad front" government governs for the bosses: it has silenced requests to revoke the labor and pension reforms; created a new spending ceiling with a different name (the "fiscal framework"), limiting public investments; turned a blind eye to police repression on the outskirts of large cities, also adopting a new Law and Order Guarantee (GLO) operation, handing over parts of security to the Armed Forces; maintains close relations with the military and landowners, sectors that support attacks on the working class and stimulated the rise of the extreme right in the country. In practice, the Lula-Alckmin government confirms that the inauguration ceremony was nothing more than a piece of political marketing, while in reality, the oppressed classes continue to suffer attacks, while receiving at most cosmetic measures. Privatization advances One of the central attacks intended for years by the ruling classes is the advancement of privatization processes throughout the national territory. We have seen an acceleration in tenders to privatize prisons, transport, water and sanitation, in addition to signs of advancement in the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) model for the areas of health and education. All of this is enhanced by the new spending ceilings, called the fiscal framework, which scraps public services so that governments can come up with the magical solution of privatization (concession, partnership, or any other name they want to give to disguise it). Whether in states governed by the far-right opposition, the traditional right or the broad front, privatization is progressing in the same way. No matter how much the federal government publicly avoids it, it has an enormous responsibility for this. What supports these plans is the PPI, Partnership and Investment Program, created during the government of Michel Temer (MDB), which is a type of internal consultancy to the State, responsible for advancing privatizations across the country. Under the tutelage of minister Rui Costa, the government headed by the PT maintains the PPI and the general privatization agenda, with rare exceptions. A history of privatizations To understand the privatization process, we need to understand the changes that occurred in the production chain and in public services after the Second World War. The crisis of economic and political liberalism in the 1920s, the rise of fascism and the strengthening of socialism, produced in the dominant classes the need to reformulate their economic and social policies. It began to spread, mainly in Europe in the 1940s. and 1950, the idea of a regulatory or social welfare state, which would be concerned with social and essential services for the population (education, health, public sanitation, energy, access to water, etc.) and, in addition, would rule out the proposals radicals of the socialist left (the "ghost" of communism). These ideas also advocated that the State take on economic activities that were not of interest to the private sector, or finance private activities through investment and research by state institutions. This movement must be understood as a change in the program of the dominant classes, which reduced social tensions and even managed to move the labor movement away from socialist proposals. Not surprisingly, a social democracy begins to grow that completely moves away from the prospect of destroying capitalism and starts to defend small reforms, the nationalization (nationalization) of some sectors and social programs. Although this European reality is very different from the Brazilian one, social policies and programs were also implemented in our country in the 1940s and 1950s, specifically in the field of social assistance, social insurance and specific social programs. In the 1970s, however, with the increasing defeat of the bureaucratic project of Soviet socialism and the reflux of social struggles and the socialist project, a sector of the ruling classes began to defend the dismantling of these social services. It was a period of economic crisis (and oil crisis) that destroyed the post-war economic order, causing an increase in the external debt of peripheral countries. The financialization of the economic system was also advancing (increasing control and merger of companies by banks and insurance companies). The ruling classes increasingly began to defend cuts in social programs and the dismantling of any sign of a welfare state. A new model of capitalist accumulation was advancing in an increasingly aggressive manner and with it, the idea of privatization, a model formalized in a meeting held in November 1989, which became known as The Washington Consensus. The formulation by economists from financial institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and the United States Treasury Department of a neoliberal prescription. In this way, privatizations advanced under the Sarney (1985-1990) Collor (1990-1992) and Itamar Franco (1992-1995) governments. This policy continued in the Fernando Henrique Cardoso governments (1995-2003) and in a more attenuated way in the Lula (2003-2011) and Dilma (2011-2016) governments. To counter social democratic optimism, even the so-called "pink wave", which refers to the elections of progressive candidates in Latin America from the 2000s onwards, was marked by governments that applied to some extent the policies of the Washington Consensus. In Brazil, PT governments maintained the rule of price stability and fiscal discipline as the basis of their economic policy. With the legal-parliamentary coup that removed elected president Dilma Rousseff in 2016, neoliberalism is applied by the dominant classes in a policy of shock, in the Temer (2016-2019) and Bolsonaro (2019-2023) governments. A brief debate about our conception We at the Libertarian Socialist Organization (OSL), as anarchists, do not believe that State bodies are in fact public, that is, common goods shared by society as a whole. We do not believe in the neutrality of the State, which is an instrument of the dominant classes built, historically, with the aim of perpetuating their own system of private interests and domination. Even though in certain circumstances they may have instruments considered more democratic, these mechanisms only serve to fool around, build electoral corrals and to legitimize the attack policies of the dominant classes. We strengthen the struggles of workers in the public sector, also, for two reasons. Firstly, because it considers the fight to defend jobs (against the closure of jobs or precarious work relationships), wages and the quality of services provided to the population to be fundamental, immediately. Secondly, the struggle is important for the accumulation of social strength towards the advancement of the organization of broad sectors of the working class. We seek to build a new society by stimulating reflection: what would self-management of public services be like so that workers could they self-organize, with popular control through direct democracy, involving the basic bodies of society? In our conception, the State is also subject to the private interests of a minority, such as the technocratic sectors that make up the state apparatus (shift rulers, state careerists or theocrats) and the dominant classes in general (land owners, big businessmen, bankers etc.). However, tactically, we set our forces in motion against privatizations because we understand that they deepen exploitation and transform services that should not (in theory) seek profit into merchandise. We do not believe that the definitive solution lies in nationalization. Our defense against privatization is an opposition to an important point in the enemy's strategy, in addition to contributing to the experience of struggle and organization of our class, as well as to the immediate improvement of living conditions. We defend, as a program, the radical transformation of society aiming at a horizon of a self-managed organizational model, socialization and planning through direct democracy. In this model, workers have an active participation in the construction and management of decisions made collectively, not being mere "cogs" of work - which differs from the current model of a capitalist-statist society. Examples of problems caused by privatization The privatization of strategic sectors - such as energy, basic sanitation and transport - and its negative effects are nothing new in Brazil. More recently, in 2021, there was the privatization of the Rio de Janeiro State Water and Sewage Company (Cedae), which two years later resulted in an increase in the charging tariff and did not universalize access to basic sanitation in the state. The same warning is made in relation to the São Paulo State Basic Sanitation Company (Sabesp) and the Minas Gerais Sanitation Company (Copasa and Copanor, in the north of the state), which the governments of Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP ) and Romeu Zema (Novo-MG) intend to privatize. In Várzea Grande, a municipality neighboring Cuiabá (MT), the Department of Water and Sewage (DAE) is once again a topic of interest for local councilors as municipal elections approach. The region's public service suffers from a lack of investment, while politicians claim that privatization will improve the situation. The risks of precarious public service and increased tariffs to provide profits to the business community are real. In Mato Grosso, privatization processes began in the mid-1990s and the logic did not deviate from the neoliberal strategies promoted by the state: increasing scrapping, reducing investments and, thus, generating losses for society and, also, for the workers themselves. . In 1996, Centrais Elétricas Matogrossenses (Cemat) began to have shared management with Eletrobrás S.A, beginning its privatization process; At the end of 1997, its privatization took place, with Grupo Rede (currently Grupo Energisa) and Inepar winning the auction and taking control of the electricity sector in the state of Mato Grosso. In 1998, Telecomunicações de Mato Grosso S/A (Telemat) was privatized, being controlled by Brasil Telecom (currently Oi). The process of privatizing the basic sanitation service went through a few stages, first with the extinction of the Mato Grosso Sanitation Company (Sanemat), with the functions being transferred to the municipalities. The Capital Sanitation Company (Sanecap) was then created in 2000, which was privatized in 2011, with control passing to CAB Ambiental, today Águas Cuiabá (Iguá). The struggles and resistance against privatizations failed to stop the process. The increase in fees and tariffs contributed to the increase in the cost of living, at the same time that the service continues to break records for complaints at Procon. Furthermore, both Iguá and Energisa have the practice of outsourcing, with precarious working conditions. In São Paulo, the privatization of Eletricidade São Paulo S.A (Eletropaulo), in 1999, currently managed by the Italian Enel, also brought losses to the population , such as increased tariffs and precariousness of services. With a smaller workforce (it has cut staff by 36% since taking over the company five years ago) and little investment in network maintenance - which increases the owners' profits - the company is unable to quickly resolve emergency situations, such as the one that occurred after heavy rains in the metropolitan region of São Paulo on November 3rd. Several neighborhoods and districts remained without electricity for more than 72 hours, causing various losses to the population. Yet another example that privatization is not synonymous with "efficiency", as its defenders often claim. In relation to transport, the privatization of trains in Rio de Janeiro is one of the biggest examples of precarious services and losses to society in order to meet the profits of the business community. SuperVia, then owned by the Japanese company Gumi and created in 1998 to manage the trains, in more than 20 years scrapped the state's railway system, registering operational problems, lack of investment and frequent accidents. The fare is one of the most expensive in the country (R$7.40), excluding part of the population who cannot afford this daily price. The situation is so precarious that, in April 2023, the Japanese company chose to return the "concession" (privatization modality) to the state government. In São Paulo, Metro Lines 4-Yellow (ViaQuatro) and 5-Lilac (ViaMobilidade) were already privatized. In both cases, public coffers are harmed: according to the agreement, the government of the state of São Paulo must contribute high amounts if the demand for the use of services is below the stipulated level, avoiding losses to the companies that manage the lines. Meanwhile, the Metro lines that remain public (Lines 1-Blue, 2-Green and 3-Red) suffer from scrapped services and precarious work. It is the privatization of profits, benefiting companies, and the socialization of losses for the population." Despite this, the São Paulo government intends to extend the privatization of the Metro lines. In relation to metropolitan trains - the majority of which are managed by the Company Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) -, ViaMobilidade took control of lines 8-Diamante and 9-Esmeralda for 30 years in 2022. Since then, transport problems have been practically daily, with stoppages and delays in services, causing several harm to the population. In Minas Gerais, the Belo Horizonte Metro was privatized this year. Despite being recent, metro workers are already pointing out the company's authoritarian stance, which has reduced the number of employees and does not respect CLT determinations. Tasks for the immediate fight The privatization process has generated mobilizations in the country, although restricted, mainly, to sectors of the public service with mostly corporatist impulses. There is also the hegemony of union bureaucracies controlled by parties of order, concerned with carrying out the struggle in a controlled manner aiming at electoral objectives. In São Paulo, for example, on October 3rd there was a joint strike by subway workers, workers from Sabesp and CPTM (metropolitan trains). With the solidarity participation of categories such as students and workers at the University of São Paulo (USP), the fight broke the media blockade and highlighted privatization on the agenda of the day, in addition to putting the governor of São Paulo on the defensive to the point of being obliged to declare an optional point. We believe that to stop the privatization process it is necessary to expand the debate beyond the union leadership and the corporatist interests exclusively of permanent workers. It is of great importance to bring outsourced workers and other types of precarious public service workers into the political arena and into the struggle, in addition to the public service user sectors. Privatization deepens the precariousness of work and services, and creates a gap between workers of the same category, with very different rights and salaries. It is necessary to raise the issue of equal rights and salaries for employees and outsourced workers, aiming at equalization between both and generating fighting conditions for all workers in the sector. Without the struggle and organization of these workers together, the delivery of public services will deepen to entrepreneurs, which makes services provided to the population precarious: few employees, little structure and poor quality - considering that the main objective of companies is profit and not service and the common good of society. We will be fighting against privatizations at local or federal level regardless of which party is in government, regardless of class; we will act against the fragmentation of workers by employment contract, fighting for equal rights and wages for all workers; Finally, we will seek to expand these struggles to the group of oppressed classes that use public services, with the purpose of dismantling the manipulation of the media that defends the bosses. Against the precariousness and privatization of public services! For a unification of the struggles of the oppressed classes against the advance of neoliberalism! Workers and users together against the precariousness of life for the profit of the bosses! Equal rights and wages for all workers! No to outsourcing and precarious work! OSL, November 28, 2023.
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