Bresser criticizes support for Maduro from sectors of the left.
"It makes no sense for the PT (Workers' Party) to claim that the Maduro government is democratic, because obviously it isn't. But it makes even less sense for the United States to act to overthrow his government with the support of European social democracies and the right wing here and abroad," says economist Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira; "The Brazilian left cannot remain silent in the face of the incompetence that the Venezuelan government has revealed."
By Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
Mathias Alencastro wrote a timely article in Folha (January 11.1th) criticizing the PT's position of supporting the Maduro government. According to him, "by landing in Caracas, Gleisi Hoffmann fulfills the fantasy of those who seek by all means to label the PT as anti-democratic." Is this attitude of the Brazilian left as irrational as that of liberals supporting the Venezuelan opposition, which is even more anti-democratic than the government, and its ally, the American government, which in this case acts in an imperialist manner?
Today, the same newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo, published an article by Breno Altman defending the PT (Workers' Party), which, by showing solidarity with the Venezuelan government, is reaffirming its position against imperialism. It also criticizes Alencastro, who laments that the PT does not associate itself with European social democracies. Indeed, there is no reason for Brazilian social democrats to join European social democracies on this issue. They act in a manner just as imperialistic as the United States in relation to the developing world.
It makes no sense for the PT (Workers' Party) to claim that the Maduro government is democratic, because obviously it isn't. But it makes even less sense for the United States to act to overthrow his government with the support of European social democracies and the right wing here and abroad. This is mere imperialism, which the PT is right to criticize. If it weren't, the West should also be acting to overthrow the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Singapore, Myanmar...
Furthermore, the Brazilian left cannot remain silent in the face of the incompetence revealed by the Venezuelan government. When the price of oil was high, it acted like the grasshopper and spent; when that price fell, it lacked the resources to face the crisis and became paralyzed. The result was hyperinflation, unemployment, and hunger. How can the Brazilian left show solidarity with such an incompetent government?