Lava Jato, corruption, and class struggle.

The recent revelations made by the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper about the participation of money launderer Alberto Youssef, involved in enormous scams and frauds, in financing the electoral campaign of Álvaro Dias, a leading figure in Operation Lava Jato and the main political mentor of the suspect former judge Sérgio Moro, only confirm what was already well known by all those who dedicate themselves to studying our political history with a certain level of impartiality and seriousness. That is, the empty rhetoric of fighting corruption has always been a pretext used by the major corrupt figures to eliminate from the political scene any person or political force that could endanger the sacrosanct desire that the ruling classes nurture to use and abuse the structures of the State for their sole and exclusive benefit.

Therefore, the end of this charade could not have been any different. The facts brought to light are making it very clear that the so-called Lava Jato Operation, from its very beginning, was organized, composed, and guided by people who have demonstrated that they have always lived and thrived on benefits derived from corruption itself.

Therefore, throughout our history, whenever a political leader emerged with a concern for redistributing the wealth produced by society as a whole in a more equitable way that would benefit the popular majorities a little more, their presence and actions were seen and labeled as unacceptable by those responsible for safeguarding the interests of the powerful. And from there, the opinion-forming machine of the dominant classes went into action.

However, the motivations behind political decisions often cannot be revealed as they truly are. Consequently, hypocrisy has become a preferred tool for those who cannot disclose the real reasons behind their struggles. And, as a way to camouflage the true motives fueling their revolt against granting rights to the poorest, the fight against corruption has been elevated to the status of a primary argument to guarantee a moral justification for those who participate in it.

It is also true that, in order to achieve any significant success in their endeavor, the proponents of the key idea of ​​this hypocrisy need to count on the predisposition of their target audience to accept without question the narrative being transmitted to them. That is, what is then called in linguistics a "fictional pact" occurs, in which the author and the receiver of the message pretend that the fiction being transmitted is in fact a reality. In other words, everyone pretends to believe the reasons being given to justify their actions because everyone has an interest in it being so.

From a popular perspective, it is necessary to minimize the number of those willing to accept as true the hypocrisy of corruption as the driving force behind the struggle waged by the ruling classes against the working majorities. In this sense, it is crucial that corruption be seen and treated as a matter of class struggle, and not as a subject of false moralism, in which personal honesty prevails over any and all interests of the social classes involved in the dispute.

For workers, ending corruption is of paramount importance, but it is not the essence of the problem they face. For those who live by their labor, the fight against corruption can never be separated from the fight for a fairer and more equitable distribution of wealth. In other words, we must demand and ensure that not a single cent of state resources is diverted for purposes not legally foreseen. But this alone is not enough!

We want to end corruption because we aspire to a more dignified and just life for the majority. Therefore, we want an end to corruption so that our people can more easily access comprehensive and high-quality public healthcare; so that all our children, young people, and adults receive a public education that adequately qualifies them for the demands of our social life; so that no one has to live on the streets due to lack of housing; so that we have salaries that enable workers to acquire the goods necessary for a dignified and comfortable life.

Therefore, we must express our revulsion towards all those who have embraced the spirit of hypocritical corruption; towards all those who preach the fight against corruption but have enriched themselves through corruption; towards those who express their resentment against corruption only when the accused do not belong to the ruling classes. Clearly, we must vehemently repudiate all exploiters of the types mentioned. However, we cannot limit ourselves to this.

Our fight against corruption must always include our determination to demand public policies that prioritize the needs of the popular majorities. Therefore, at this moment when Sérgio Moro, Deltan Dallagnol, Álvaro Dias, and the other leading figures of the Lava Jato operation are being publicly exposed, we must strive to ensure that state structures and resources are used to prioritize the needs of those who have been brutally exploited throughout our history—in other words, the working majorities of our nation.

In short, the fight against corruption is part of the fight against the ruling classes. We must always carry it out bearing in mind that our goal is to ensure that the resources produced by society as a whole are available to meet the needs of all. We do not fight corruption simply out of false moralism.