Resist the regression!

At the start of this legislative process, we are astonished by the voracity with which the current government is attacking social and workers' rights. It is something unparalleled and devastating. We need to intensify the fight to protect social rights and restore democracy—otherwise, Brazil will head towards the abyss in the coming years.

The current government's misleading propaganda attempts to sell the idea that the proposed reforms can lead our entire country back to prosperity. But the benefits they may bring will only accrue to a few, at the expense of the majority. Through limiting investments in health and education; effectively eliminating the right to Social Security enshrined in our Constitution; and the so-called "flexibilization" of labor rights, the Temer government is shifting the entire burden of the crisis onto the poorest.

This is something that Brazilians are already noticing. According to surveys, three out of four people believe that Michel Temer governs for the rich.

They could not possibly reach any other conclusion, given what we have witnessed since May, when the then vice-president illegitimately came to power and felt free to implement the neoliberal agenda.

In September, the government submitted a high school reform proposal to Congress. But, precisely on such an important issue, affecting the lives of millions of students, the illegitimate government disregarded the debate. Meanwhile, throughout the country, we have poor quality teacher training, low attractiveness of the teaching profession, and deficient school infrastructure—all of this remains untouched, and likely to worsen, since investments in education will be blocked by the amendment to the spending cap, better known as the "Death Amendment."

In December, the long-awaited reform—or should it be abolition?—of the pension system arrived in Congress. With the clear intention of favoring private pension companies and the financial system, the proposal requires 49 years of contributions for a worker to be entitled to a full pension—which thus becomes unattainable in practice. Special retirement conditions for various hazardous and specialized sectors, such as teachers, are eliminated, further reducing the attractiveness of these careers. And, taking the absurdity to the extreme, it provides for a minimum INSS (National Social Security Institute) benefit lower than the minimum wage—revealing that the government cares little whether the pension benefit meets the needs of the worker's family or not.

The spending cap amendment and the pension reform, along with the already announced labor reform, form the tripod of regression. And it doesn't stop there. The coup-plotting project is producing many more regrettable measures, with clear and decisive support from the mainstream media.
National wealth is being squandered. The swift approval of the law that ended Petrobras' mandatory participation in the pre-salt oil fields is an example of this.

And this year has already begun with more setbacks: changes to the system for demarcating indigenous lands and cuts to CNPq funding. But we will not let this shake us. We must resist!

The year 2017 promises much struggle. Only through daily battles in Parliament and on the streets will we be able to rebuild the Brazilian people's confidence in the future and in democracy.

The Workers' Party (PT) will intensify its opposition to the Temer government, and it is not alone. Other parties and social movements also refuse to participate in building a Brazil for the few. We remain faithful to the objectives, established in the Citizen Constitution, of building a free, just and supportive society, of eradicating poverty, and of promoting the well-being of all.

The students who occupied schools throughout Brazil are also an example of the yearning for democracy. Unions, likewise, are organizing to resist the pension and labor reforms.

If we all work together, it will be possible to resist. We need to restore democracy through new direct elections for the Presidency of the Republic, defend the rights of workers, and bring the people back to the forefront.

Not one right less! Out with Temer! Direct elections now!