Between April 18th and 21st, the VI National Congress of CSP-Conlutas took place in São Paulo, an important space for political and organizational debate for class-conscious and independent trade union and popular sectors in Brazil. The Libertarian Socialist Organization (OSL) participated in the Congress, presenting positions that, although not formally submitted as a comprehensive contribution or proposed resolution, were partially disseminated through a joint manifesto prepared with the Popular Liberation Group (GLP) and presented in a discussion held after the congress activities. Furthermore, the organization was politically active in the formation of slates for the National Executive Secretariat.
CSP-Conlutas and its potential
To begin, it is important to reinforce our understanding that CSP-Conlutas possesses significant potential as an instrument for articulating the combative sectors of the Brazilian working class and for building bonds of international solidarity among peoples and workers in struggle.
From our point of view, we understand the Central as a tool for organizing, coordinating, and strengthening the struggles of the oppressed classes, and not as a space subordinated to the self-construction of political organizations. In our opinion, its strengthening fundamentally depends on its capacity to broaden its real insertion in concrete struggles, incorporate new social sectors, and strengthen grassroots organizational processes.
In this sense, we believe that CSP-Conlutas maintains characteristics that differentiate it within the Brazilian trade union landscape. First, we highlight its class independence from governments, employers, and the institutions of Capitalism-Statism. In a context marked by the integration of a large part of the trade union movement into institutional management mechanisms, maintaining this independence constitutes a political advancement for the oppressed classes that must be defended and deepened.
We also positively assess the main programmatic axes approved by Congress, especially the defense of the repeal of labor and pension reforms, the fight against privatizations, the opposition to the fiscal framework and austerity policies, as well as the reaffirmation of socialism as a strategic horizon.
On the international stage, we highlight the unity built around solidarity with the Palestinian people, the defense of the self-determination of peoples, opposition to imperialist wars, and criticism of different forms of imperialist domination. These elements constitute an important basis for strengthening an internationalist perspective within the Central.
Political differences and strategic challenges
Although, broadly speaking, we share much of the program approved by Congress in its most relevant aspects, we have identified important differences in the areas of strategy and organizational design.
The main point stems from our analysis, which starts from the understanding that the main problem faced today by the working class is not fundamentally a "crisis of leadership," but a problem of orientation for organizing the grassroots. While a large part of the currents within the Central tend to interpret the current challenges as resulting from the absence of a revolutionary leadership capable of guiding the struggles, we understand that the central task of the period consists of rebuilding the capacity for popular organization in workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods, with an orientation that does not treat these spaces as mere electoral corrals, in which individuals are thought of only as numbers destined to endorse policies previously defined by the leadership.
This difference produces important practical consequences. While in many sectors the priority is programmatic dispute and the affirmation of political projects within the organized vanguard, the OSL attributes greater centrality to building unity of action, strengthening concrete work at the grassroots level, and forming an organized social force capable of effectively confronting the dominant classes.
We reaffirm the importance of political debate and the right to express dissenting opinions. However, when this becomes the central focus of organized forces' actions, we believe the direct consequence is the weakening of the capacity for organized intervention in the class struggle, whether in the dispute over projects with sectors oriented towards class conciliation, or in direct confrontation with class enemies.
This position relates to the distinction we make between the social/mass level and the political/partisan level of class struggle. Inspired by the anarchist tradition inaugurated by Bakunin and developed through various historical experiences of anarchism, we understand that processes of popular organization must start from the concrete and immediate needs of the working class, creating conditions for the progressive development of political consciousness.
However, we observe that a significant portion of the currents within CSP-Conlutas tend to reject this distinction, identifying it as an expression of economism, corporatism, or political degradation. In practice, this frequently results in the presentation of highly radicalized slogans and formulations in contexts where there is still no organized social force capable of supporting them.
This dynamic prioritizes a top-down political construction, that is, from the leadership to the grassroots. Our perspective is the opposite: to build from the concrete experience of the grassroots, developing organizational processes capable of gradually expanding the levels of participation, awareness, and activism.
The Congress highlighted a recurring imbalance between discursive radicalism and effective mobilization capacity. In many cases, the intensity of revolutionary rhetoric does not correspond to the degree of real insertion in the categories and movements. This tends to shift the center of political activity to internal disputes between currents organized by the most suitable labels, weakening the unified construction of concrete struggles.
We also identified a growing trend of the Central transforming into a space marked by permanent disputes between political blocs of organized currents, to the detriment of its role as an instrument for coordinating unions, popular movements, and grassroots organizations. This dynamic may hinder the expansion of CSP-Conlutas and limit its capacity to engage with broader sectors of the working class.
OSL's role at the VI Congress
Our actions during the Congress were guided by these principles.
We maintained an independent political stance, without joining permanent blocs or fixed strategic alliances with any group present in the Central. Our main commitment remains the strengthening of CSP-Conlutas itself as an instrument of struggle for the working class.
It was based on this understanding that we advocated, during the election process for the National Executive Secretariat, for a composition that would guarantee representation for all the political forces that make up the Central.
We understand that a more pluralistic leadership can contribute to broadening the collective commitment to building CSP-Conlutas, distributing responsibilities more equitably, and encouraging the participation of sectors that would otherwise remain restricted to the role of external opposition to the processes.
In this context, the existence of the barrier clause spurred a tactical rapprochement with minority groups during the dispute over the composition of the National Executive Secretariat. This rapprochement did not represent the formation of a permanent political bloc, but expressed a position consistent with our defense of expanding democratic participation and the distribution of responsibilities within the Central.
Outlook for the next period
The VI Congress simultaneously confirmed the potential and the current limitations of CSP-Conlutas.
The OSL reaffirms its commitment to building a class-based, anti-capitalist, internationalist, democratic, and self-governing central organization, independent of governments, employers, and union bureaucracies.
We will continue to defend class independence, the simultaneous fight against the far right and the democratic-popular camp, the strengthening of grassroots organization, and the construction of libertarian socialism as our horizon.
In this new phase that begins after the Congress, we will maintain our political independence from all sectors that make up the Central. We will continue to engage in dialogue and build specific initiatives with different organizations whenever, from our point of view, this contributes to strengthening CSP-Conlutas and advancing the struggles of the oppressed classes.
We will defend initiatives that broaden democratic participation, decentralize responsibilities, strengthen grassroots spaces, and prioritize concrete action and the daily work of popular organization.
We understand that the future of CSP-Conlutas will depend on the collective capacity to permanently distance itself from bureaucratizing and centralizing practices, expand its presence in real struggles, and build organized social strength among workers and oppressed sectors. This is, in our assessment, the main challenge facing the coming period.
Libertarian Socialist Organization July 2026
https://socialismolibertario.net/notas-sobre-a-atuacao-da-osl-na-csp-conlutas-apos-o-vi-congresso-nacional/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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