A conversation with Louis Althusser

Dear Louis Althusser,

After his departure on October 22, 1990, much changed in the world. Some things did, some didn't. So far, yet so near.

Incredibly, here in Brazil, after the 2016 coup, his great work "The Ideological State Apparatuses" is gaining strength in its most advanced stage. I say this because, in times of peace and democratic strengthening, his observations become obscured or disappear.

When a worker, a migrant from the Northeast of Brazil, a true laborer, became President of our country, we managed to navigate against the tide of the economic crisis. A global economic crisis that devastated many countries. We lifted millions out of extreme poverty, and millions more rose economically to another social class. The poorest were able, for the first time, to travel by plane to enjoy their families and vacations, saw their children become doctors, lawyers, engineers, or graduate in other fields. They were able to buy their own little house, eat meat every day. They obtained basic things that had been denied to them, such as potable water and electricity, to improve their living conditions.

But that's not why I'm writing to you. I'm offering you these words, which are circulating here, for another reason. It so happens that, with the 2016 coup, that virtuous moment was broken.

Remember when you said that the (repressive) State Apparatus organically inhabits the government, the public administration, the armies, the police, the courts, and the prisons? Well, just recently, there was a massacre in the Amazonas state prison, and the prison system as a whole throughout the country continues to be veritable overcrowded dungeons, genuine machines of human destruction. The courts, for their part, remain the same. The police, in turn, beat, arrest, fire bombs, rubber bullets, and use pepper spray on boys and girls, young people and workers who dare to fight against the representatives of an economic and financial elite.

This elite approved a constitutional amendment freezing investments in public policies for 20 years. In other words, less investment in education, health, culture, and housing. As if that weren't enough, today these young people and workers are rising up once again to fight, this time against the increase in public transportation fares.

If we think about it carefully, I believe it's been two years since good people and the vanguard have left the streets. This journey began in the fight for Democracy and against Dilma's impeachment.

Comrade Althusser, your warnings are becoming increasingly clear. You said that the State is repressive because, for its functioning, physical or administrative violence is necessary, and this in extreme situations. In plain English, to force down the throats of those in power the interests of the powerful.

Almost leaping out of the book, today, these apparatuses are once again occupying and playing, on a federal level, the fundamental role for the existence and reproduction of power in society.

Logically, in right-wing state governments, this happened with full force. See the examples of Beto Richa, who ordered the beating of teachers in Paraná; what is happening in Rio de Janeiro; the issue of Governor Geraldo Alckmin's attempt to close schools in São Paulo, to cite just a few cases.

My friend, I couldn't fail to mention here the influence of the media, which plays a major role in the process of alienating people. The same media that sponsored the coup and is now preparing to stage a coup within a coup. This is because the "president" they installed has already paid his debt; the coup government has increased the funds allocated to them by 800%.

But regarding the coup within the coup, on the other hand, there is a fundamental crisis among them. Even with coffers overflowing with money, business sectors that also helped install Michel Temer are seeing that he is not up to the task, since he composed his government with friends/ministers who fall almost every two weeks due to involvement in corruption allegations. His main minister, the Minister of Economy, is unable to show results to the market. It will be no surprise if the national bourgeoisie pressures the media to orchestrate indirect elections to install another manager who is more efficient in their misdeeds.

Finally, regarding the role of churches, the best ones continue to teach people the path they believe to be "supposedly" true. However, there are also those churches that only think about financial gain from their faithful. Most churches do not aim to study the Bible and show that the Christ they believe they follow was actually a Socialist, sharing bread and wine, not throwing stones because we are all prone to error, and that everyone is a brother or sister, in addition to fighting against the great empire that exploits and enslaves people.

The only real difference is this new institutional configuration; the most conservative sector, the one that most seeks to eliminate human rights, is the evangelical bloc. On the other hand, this new Pope follows a fairly consistent line; he seems to be a good person and a warrior for social justice.

A big hug,
Pedro Del Castro.