Alliances in 2022 need to go beyond political parties.

I have been following very closely the discussion about Geraldo Alckmin's possible candidacy as Lula's running mate in this year's election. I believe that the political moment we are experiencing is very similar to that of the turn of the 70s to the 80s, when, to defeat the dictatorship, we carried out the great ABC strikes. Our struggle to overcome authoritarian militarism united us with Ulysses Guimarães, Tancredo Neves, Mário Covas, Franco Montoro, Leonel Brizola and many intellectuals, religious figures and artists. Everyone stood together because we knew that defeating the dictatorship was fundamental. And that it was necessary to rebuild democracy in Brazil, starting with everyone who had this commitment.

It was these united forces that achieved a reasonably democratic system in Brazil. Today, the situation is even more serious, because our struggle is to defeat crude militarism, the total dismantling of the State, and a terrible pre-fascism, which is now expressed in something I had never seen before: the action of neo-Nazi groups arming themselves to wage a violent confrontation in the country. This is no small matter.

Even funded by foreign cells, these groups are infiltrating the police and other sectors, bringing to light a terrible threat. Beyond the destruction of the entire framework we've had since the 30s, including the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) in the 40s, and the rights won in the struggles of the 80s and 90s, we are seeing everything dismantled, reducing workers' rights to almost nothing. 

In a reconstruction process, you only succeed if you have the ability to unite everyone who is committed to the democratic rule of law. We form alliances with people who may have differences, but who share our goal of defeating regression.

This is therefore a moment of strategic and tactical greatness. The possibility of Geraldo Alckmin joining the ticket led by Lula symbolically expresses this understanding. Lula, who has always valued the PT (Workers' Party), is above the party, and Alckmin will be above the party he joins. They are supra-partisan leaders who perfectly express this moment of reconstruction. If this alliance is confirmed, the path to democratic dialogue is paved.

I feel sad when I see people in positions of responsibility, who should know the reality of this country, adopting petty gestures, saying they are against a larger alliance. Don't these people realize everything that has been done in recent years? Haven't they seen that they captured, hijacked power in this country and handed it over to politicians of the lowest moral stature?  

Power is in the hands of politicians like Ciro Nogueira, who until recently called himself a "follower of Lula" and who won votes to become a senator on Lula's coattails. Now, he takes the Union Budget, which belongs to the people, and uses it solely for the benefit of his group. To do this, he turns against Lula and attacks the Workers' Party. It is gestures like this that make me even more certain of the importance of forging this alliance.

This is the moment. It's going to be tough; we're taking over a destroyed country, we have to be aware of that. And the reconstruction process is much more painful than the construction itself. Want an example? You build a small house on an empty lot and everyone sees it. You do a renovation, a much larger project, on an old house and almost nobody sees it. That's more or less what happens in Brazil: an old, destroyed house that will need to be renovated in all its rooms. 

It is important that everyone understands this reform that needs to be done in Brazil. It involves Lula's gesture to workers about the need to repeal the labor reform. More than that, we need to explain to people that the labor reform, the pension reform, or any other reform will only be changed if the National Congress has representatives elected this year who are committed to the workers. Voting for Lula is important, but just as important is choosing Lula's partners in the National Congress, those who will help him. 

I am convinced that Brazil has a way out. The solution, once again, is Lula. But we, members of the Workers' Party, must have the greatness to let Lula handle the politics. He, more than anyone, knows how to do it. I also remember that when we allied with José Alencar to be Lula's vice-president in 2002, we won that alliance by a single vote in the party leadership. And Lula proved he was right to want to unite with Alencar. Well, the situation today is more dramatic and more serious than in 2002. And today's alliance, with Alckmin, is also more important!