The members of Organização Anarquista Socialismo Libertário (Libertarian Socialism Anarchist Organisation, OASL) have participated in the struggles against the rising tariffs in Sao Paulo, both in the capital as well as in cities like Mogi das Cruzes, Marilia and Franca, in the growing movement that has gripped the country. The membership of other organisations linked to the Coordenação Anarquista Brasileira (Brazilian Anarchist Coordination, CAB) has, in other states, also helped to build the struggles. Below, two militants of OASL, Pablo Pamplona and Thiago Calixto*, who have been participating in the struggles, respond to a few questions about the recent process of mobilisations in the country. OASL is a member of Anarkismo.
On the other hand we see other relevant mobilisations at community, trade union, agrarian and student level, that have helped influence the mood of the population, such as support for workers evicted from their homes as a result of property speculation and preparation for mega-events, as in the case of Pinheirinho and the Moinho favela (slum), among many others. The popular movements that are articulating these movements have certainly helped spur the population on to the streets.
The struggles against the tariff increase has been organised mainly by Movimento Passe Libre (Free Pass Movement, MPL), which has been organising and convening struggles around the question of transport since 2006. The movement – with which we have great affinity and proximity – retains an autonomous and combative character. It builds its struggles independently through general and horizontal participation. It doesn't bring sound cars to the streets, the statements are always passed around in minstrel form (someone shouts out the notices and the people around them repeat the same words, so that a greater number of people can hear) and the passivity of protesters is never encouraged; on the contrary, broad participation and action is always encouraged. This character, quite characteristic of the struggle against the rise, has earned strong support from the population, which, in our view, is tired of demonstrations in the traditional model of the left, around podiums and worn out speeches. Civil disobedience and direct action, as well as grassroots work, have been consistently practices by the movement. At the same time, the fact that the opposition to parties has, to a large extent, been appropriated by a conservative and nationalist sector, sometimes stimulated by the extreme right, and has extended to the left as a whole, including trade union and social movements, should be cause for concern. The mainstream media has also contributed to this advance of conservative forces and to the weakening of the demands relating to transport.
Another factor that could have contributed is that, after eight years and for the first time in the struggle against the increase in Sao Paulo, we have a mayor from the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party, PT). The struggle also interested strong conservative sectors further to the right, which have been trying to erode the image of the new mayor, and with it, that of the federal government. A key element was the position of the media that, at first, positioned itself against the movement. As the protests grew, as well as the popular support – coupled with massive repression which reached a significant part of the reporters from the large media companies – the media started changing its position and moving to defend the movement. They preferred, however, to promote their own agendas and encourage pacifism, civility, nationalism, criminalising the more radical sectors. Finally, we can identify that technology in general (cameras on cellular phones, for example), notably the internet, allowed for the dissemination of what was happening in the protests and that this was boosted by social networks. This variable is also relevant.
The first demonstration had about 5 thousand people, and already had live coverage on Jornal Nacional, the country's main television news. The same was to continue with the following actions: the mainstream media kept talking of struggle (even before the tariff reduction, it was already on the cover of many of the country's major newspapers and magazines). Initially, the protesters were labelled as vandals, youth without a cause and other positions trying to delegitimise the movement. So the whole country was talking about the demonstrations, which was fundamental, and through social networks shared videos and information that showed another side of the story.
The repression, contrary to causing fear, encouraged the revolt of the population and, in Sao Paulo, the government halted the most massive repressions by the Tropa de Choque (Shock Troop). The demonstrators, heavily influenced by the mainstream media, began to denouncing any acts of violence and "pacifism" became one of the main common senses of the protests.
In our assessment, recent events confirm what the anarchists have always advocated: it is not enough that the people take to the streets; it is necessary that the people conquer power, from the bottom up, at their own rhythm and organisation, not by taking the state, but through the construction of participatory and popular organisations. For this, grassroots work is indispensable. If there is no prior preparation, political discussion is abstracted and co-opted by the more organised sectors of society. In the current case, the big capitalists and the state. A large part of the population that is in the streets have no accumulation in political discussions and just reproduce what they have seen for a long time through the lens of the dominant ideology. They were conditioned to convert the demands to issues that matter to the right, like the "pride of being Brazilian", "less taxes", "less impunity" etc.
Social networks are not good in and of themselves and don't, in any way, replace the importance and necessity for popular organisation and permanent grassroots work.
But in any case MPL maintained before the repeal of the increases, and we share this analysis, that the agenda of the struggle should continue being the immediate reduction in tariffs. We are concerned that a struggle for everything would end up as a conquest of nothing. Therefore we support the focus on tariff reduction. From the moment that the reduction is won, the fight could advance to the next steps and, through the accumulation of short- and medium-term gains, the movement could be increasingly strengthened. This point of view was shared by virtually the whole left.
However, with the winning of the reduction, other demands have been raised. Some by the left, such as the need for zero tariffs, an end to the repression of social movements, the advance of struggles for rights etc. Others by the more conservative right, or even by much of the common sense that pervades many people who are on the streets. The size of the demonstrations led the population towards optimism, to thinking that "Brazil is changing" and to the will to demand everything that comes to mind. In our view, it is important that our sector, that seeks to build autonomous and combative popular struggles, resumes this continuity of issues.
In terms of class, the demonstrations in the central region of the city are composed, mostly, of who is or has been in higher education. However, it is possible to notice the participation of workers and residents of the periphery; the majority outside of the organised left. In the peripheries social movements have held very important demonstrations of markedly popular character and with positions further to the left. Perhaps the continuity of the protests should be sought in these initiatives, by those who actually want to build alternatives of popular power.
In terms of numbers, the country has come to mobilise over one million people (0,5% of the population); in Sao Paulo we reached a few hundred thousand in a few days.
First of all, violence is directly propagated by the system in which we live. Violence is to use daily the precarious transport system that we have, violence is dying in the queues of public hospitals, violence is the education of our public schools, violence is the exploitation that we suffer daily when we work. This has to be clear. Capitalism is a system based on violence. We are violated every day. And when the people complain, mobilise, they are again violated by the state, as have been the cases of repression throughout the country. The violence of the demonstrations is in response to this situation to which the population is subjected every day.
Still, we must remember that the last demonstrations in Sao Paulo showed cases of violence between the protesters themselves, stimulated by sectors of the extreme right and led by the inexperienced and conservatives that are in the streets. Violence against party militants, social movements and the whole organised left. And it was not a rejection by the left, but by the right, in fascist speeches and attitudes. A lot of the advocates of non-violence acceded to that, a fact that the media hardly addressed.
As for MPL, what we can say is that one of its principles is federalism, and that there are cities and states where the movement exists organisationally. Its articulation in several states and even the building of blocs of struggle against the increase has contributed to this building of the movement's independent and combative left.
We believe that the previous victories, which include Porto Alegre, and the victories of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – not to mention other regions – have contributed to the increase in demonstrations.
Clearly these mega-events have brought social impacts quite contrary to anything that could be popular. Politically, it strengthens power figures and their images and, deliberatively, their union takes place with big entrepreneurs and speculators. Following the final confirmation of these events, systematisation in the processes of social cleansing gained momentum in various conservative and reactionary sectors. Building contractors have profited like never before due to the intense speculation in the real estate sector, and these same contractors were responsible for financing parties of the liberal wing. We know that favelas have been torched in a criminal way, with the clear objective of cleaning the image of the cities for tourists.
In Sao Paulo, drug users have suffered police repression at the behest of the government, which even includes interning these people compulsorily. In Rio de Janeiro, a process that the police, with the help of the media, have called "pacification". It serves as an argument for the installation of police in the favelas and to continue with the cleansing and the murders. All the media, together with the bourgeoise and even the military use these subterfuges to resume and propagate an ultranationalist sentiment lost after two periods of military dictatorship.
From the beginning, MPL has supported the movement Copa Para Quem? (Cup for Who?), which raises these issues, and is united with the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto (Homeless Workers Movement, MTST), which also makes the refelction that the World Cup has occasioned questions of housing and property speculation in the periphery.
But two years ago, during the last round of struggles against the tariff increase, we had already seen other countries rising and there was no adherence that would come even minimally close to what we see today. There may be a strong influence in the unconscious or symbolic camp, especially for the militants and activists, but very little can be said about the great mass in the streets.
Another important thing is to give support to the struggle against the repression that anarchists have suffered in other parts of the country, especially the case of the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha (FAG), and to other struggles underway such as that of the students and staff at UNESP, besides several other struggles of Brazilian popular movements.
The streets are a fundamental tool to make the struggle public, but it is not in them that the public debate and political training will be completely carried out. It is through daily struggle in the social, student, trade union and community movements that the people build the necessary power to win their emancipation. What we are seeing today is that, if on one hand the left has the potential to mobilise, some of its ways are very worn. It is necessary, in our view, to emphasise grassroots work and to adopt a strategy that contributes to this emancipatory project. In our view, in the demonstrations, in the popular movements stimulating class struggle, combativeness, independence, democratic participation; in short, trying to build popular power. We should not leave aside the symbolic struggle.
The key point is that this potential must be converted into a social force that contributes to our project of a new society; and this is not by way of the state or agreements with capitalists. The people need their own alternative. If there is no popular organisation, struggles will continue to be lost. As anarchists, we maintain that this organisation will be better prepared if it is built from the bottom up, with a strong base and capable of taking the struggle towards paths that interest it as a class.
We live in a historic moment, a turning point in the mood of the population. We have had an immense quantitative advance in the struggle, and if we want to advance even further we need to focus on grassroots work where, with daily struggle, we can learn from our mistakes and successes.