Every two years, Brazilians are called to the polls to elect members for
the Executive and Legislative branches. At this time, we are approachingthe municipal elections. Pre-candidacies and alliances are consolidating
and taking up much of the news and the political agenda, guiding the
entire society, including social movements. ---- Municipal campaigns are
heavily influenced by previous electoral processes, both at the national
and international levels. Once again, we are faced with a scenario of
polarization between candidacies and alliances linked to the so-called
Broad Front (a defender of neoliberal policies, with some social
elements) under the guise of what remains of Lulaism, and candidacies
from the Bolsonarist camp, which brings together various sectors of the
right and the extreme right (also defenders of neoliberal policies).
This dynamic is reproduced in practically all capitals and large cities,
impacting even the smallest municipalities through metropolitan regions
and the political fiefdoms in these places. In some cases, the game of
electoral interests escapes this polarization and manages to bring
together opposing and enemy parties -- in São Luís, for example, the PSB
candidacy formed an alliance with more than ten parties, ranging from
Lula's PT to Bolsonaro's PL.
Political struggle is not synonymous with electoral dispute
The common sense reproduced in the media, on social networks and even
among most of the left tends to disseminate the idea among the oppressed
classes that politics is synonymous with elections, and that "doing
politics" would then mean directing energy to building candidacies and
gathering votes. Most parties, both on the left and on the right, have
the electoral process as the focus of their action. If the right's
objective is to preserve the status quo, for the left, which in theory
should defend the rights and interests of the oppressed classes, this
emphasis on elections becomes more harmful.
Today, the largest left-wing parties in the country, PT, PCdoB and PSOL,
which lead numerous unions and movements, are in government and direct
all their struggles towards electoral gains, even if this means
weakening strikes and demonstrations. In places where they are in
opposition, they support the struggles to electorally undermine the
governments, but they are careful not to allow radicalization; where
they are in government, they do everything they can to block any type of
mobilization or manifestation of discontent. In any situation, for the
leaders of these parties, direct action and combativeness are
counterproductive to their candidacies. This is a reflection of the
methods of the PT and Lulaism, which use a strong social base to gain
control of the state apparatus, without seeking to change the structures
of society, which is deeply violent and unequal.
Governments at the service of the ruling classes
In general, elections are defined by the organized forces of the ruling
classes, through their various instruments, and not by the free will of
the individuals in their personal vote. Even after an election is
decided, very powerful forces impose their political and economic
agendas on the "winners" of the electoral process. These forces include
the international agencies of imperialism (IMF, WTO, etc.), the
international and national financial system, the industrial bourgeoisie,
the mainstream media, the neo-Pentecostal churches, and organized
conservative forces in general. This is what is happening with the
Lula-Alckmin government, which, despite its electoral victory, began to
adopt part of Bolsonaro's program, which was defeated at the polls. The
greatest example of this is the neoliberal mechanism of the fiscal
framework, which requires cutting social spending to guarantee payment
of the public debt to bankers and speculators. Even with changes in
government, the ruling classes are not affected, and thus the system
remains shielded from true social transformation.
In our view, no candidacy will make profound changes within the
institutional framework, since the State will not emancipate the
oppressed classes, since it itself is an instrument of class domination.
It is direct action and popular pressure from the working masses that
can lead to concrete gains, in addition to promoting forms of politics
outside the State. Just as we believe that it is not possible to combat
capitalism by turning workers into bosses, it is not feasible to elect
politicians to combat the State.
Revolutionary parties in elections reinforce illusions
In addition to the major left-wing parties that concentrate their
energies on elections, there are revolutionary left-wing parties and
currents that participate in the electoral process with the aim of
promoting their political programs, and thus gaining new activists and
supporters. These organizations are aware that their radical programs
have a remote chance of winning positions in governments or parliaments,
but they take advantage of this space to present their political
programs to the working class. However, in our assessment, what happens
is the opposite of the initial objective: the bases that trust these
parties end up maintaining electoral illusions, as they are called upon
to participate in this dispute. Among the militants of these parties
themselves, electoral participation generates some level of confusion
and division. In relation to the mass of the oppressed classes, who do
not have close contact with these parties, revolutionary programs in the
electoral campaign give the feeling of being out of place, which is
true, since there is no space for more radical proposals within the
institutional channels. Furthermore, these campaigns contribute to
strengthening the illusion that in bourgeois democracy there is room for
the dissemination of socialist programs through peaceful and
institutional means. In reality, whenever a socialist program becomes
widespread among the oppressed classes, bourgeois democracy does not
hesitate to resort to fascism or widespread repression to contain it.
What these more radical candidates do not make clear to the population
is that their political programs are not viable without economic control
of the means of production and distribution, which can only happen with
a social revolution that breaks with the current system of exploitation
and oppression. And for such a social revolution to occur, intense
popular organization work will be necessary, which takes place outside
the ballot box.
Without due clarity, this electoral participation strengthens the
illusion in the bourgeois parliament, in addition to generating distrust
in the sector of the oppressed classes that no longer have hope in
institutional politics. The electoral tactic leads the revolutionary
parties to a crossroads: if they maintain their radical program, they
remain irrelevant in the institutional dispute, even though they
contribute to the electoral illusion. Many, then, begin to adapt their
political line to the demands of bourgeois democracy in order to try to
get their candidacies through. They soften their discourse, conciliating
with more reformist sectors or the bourgeoisie itself and, consequently,
degenerate the socialist program of their organization in exchange for
the election of some candidates.
Every Vote is Null - and that is why the focus is on the class struggle
Although we do not advocate voting for candidates, we also do not give
centrality to propaganda for null votes. We believe that the campaign
for null votes is another method that ends up strengthening illusions in
the electoral process. On the one hand, there is false information that
can be accidentally encouraged, such as the belief that the high number
of null votes would lead to the annulment of the elections or that the
blank votes would go to whoever is winning. On the other hand, this
campaign could end up diverting an effort from more constructive
practices, such as mobilizing the working classes for concrete issues,
to a useless action: voting null. Furthermore, emphasizing the null vote
can harm the dialogue with sectors of the working class who,
unfortunately, still believe in the electoral tactic. In our experience,
we have come to the conclusion that campaigns that focus on the null
vote contribute more to the depoliticization of the process than the
opposite.
Should I vote to combat the rise of the far right?
Our militant work aims to defeat the project of the ruling classes, and
not just the far right. The growth of far-right ideas has occurred amid
decades of conciliatory policies with class enemies, which have blurred
ideological differences and led sectors dissatisfied with capitalism to
consider the "left" and the "right" as "two sides of the same coin". If
in its discourse the far right channels much of the popular
dissatisfaction and presents itself as an alternative for radical
change, it is because it is the result of the deepening of neoliberalism
(and its adoption by sectors of the center-left) and the worsening
crisis of Capital, demanding more aggressive forms of government to
ensure the exploitation of the workforce. It also seeks to deepen
oppressions such as gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity in order to
assert domination over the oppressed classes.
The election of left-wing governments is ultimately incapable of
containing the far right, since the problem is structural. We must break
this cycle! The far right will only be defeated when the oppressed
classes understand that it is no different from other sectors in
defending the interests of the ruling classes. More than that, it is
necessary to present a socialist and libertarian project that, with
class independence and internationalism, establishes a social revolution
that can put an end to capitalism and the State, and to worldviews that
produce crises and put humanity and nature itself at risk.
Fighting vs. voting
For us, there is no room for mediation. The focus on elections leads to
struggles and popular participation in decision-making processes being
marginalized in politics. And it shifts the spotlight to elected
candidates, who then decide the future of movements and parties, often
trampling on the process of popular organization and the very bases of
these organizations. As anarchists, we believe it is urgent to defend
class independence in social movements and unions, and to act so that
they do not submit to the interests of any government, or serve as
instruments for electing candidates. Political action that truly serves
the people must have as its center the defense of the interests of the
oppressed classes.
We understand that the construction of socialism, in a truly
emancipatory and self-managed way, must occur with the accumulation of
social strength of the oppressed classes in a revolutionary,
internationalist project, committed to combating all types of
oppression. The history of socialism shows that there has never been a
process of radical transformation carried out through the ballot box. In
all revolutionary processes, the decisive factor was the action of the
masses, organized in popular movements and revolutionary unions. When
this was not the case, the elected popular governments acted as a brake
on the revolutionary process, and even stopped specific reforms. It is
also worth reaffirming that there has never been a left-wing majority in
the history of the Brazilian parliament - the Brazilian parliament has
always been conservative. Therefore, those who insist that socialists
must fight to obtain a left-wing majority in parliament can be
considered utopian, idealistic, who refuse to see the material and
historical reality beneath their feet. Elections in bourgeois democracy
do not contribute to transforming the system that continues to privilege
the dominant classes; on the contrary, they end up strengthening this
system of exploitation and oppression.
The police continue to kill and execute in the favelas and outskirts of
the city, the Brazilian bourgeoisie and the banks continue to
overexploit workers, ecocide, environmental devastation and attacks on
indigenous peoples and peasants continue, regardless of the electoral
agenda. The structural core of the system of domination has not been
modified, only some of its elements have been attenuated, in exchange
for the dismantling of the organizational capacity of the oppressed
classes, who now trust in bourgeois institutions.
For our part, we will continue to focus our efforts on the daily
construction of strong popular movements that can directly fight for the
improvement of their living conditions. Only in this way will it be
possible to obtain concrete achievements that can advance towards a true
perspective of social transformation, without sustaining illusions about
the electoral farce.
Libertarian Socialist Organization
August 2024
https://socialismolibertario.net/2024/08/16/eleicoes-entre-a-farsa-da-tatica-e-a-conciliacao/
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