Stedile defends constituent assembly for reform.

247 - President Dilma Rousseff's proposal to form a constituent assembly exclusively to propose political reform was not well received by the opposition and even among her allies. However, it is defended by João Pedro Stedile, an important social leader. A national leader of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), Stedile states this in an interview with the newspaper. Brazil of Factthat if this is not done, "we will enter a prolonged political crisis."

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By Nilton Viana

In June, at the height of the protests that shook the country, Brasil de Fato published an interview with João Pedro Stedile, national leader of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) and member of the articulations of Brazilian social movements for social change, to take stock and understand the meaning of that moment.

Now, a month after that historic moment, and following the national day of strikes called by labor unions and social movements, we are publishing a new interview with Stedile. The leader believes that any possibility of political change through the current Congress is definitively buried. And he is categorical: "If we don't make a constituent assembly viable, we will enter a prolonged political crisis, the unfolding of which no one knows."

Brasil de Fato – Now that the first month of the major mobilizations and the July 11th strike has passed, what is your assessment?

Joao Pedro Stedile – The result of the large mobilizations that took place in June is extremely positive. The youth cleaned up institutional politics and broke with the apathy of class conciliation politics, in which it was said that everyone won. Then, we had the national strike on July 11th – organized by the trade union federations and organized sectors of the working class – which, despite the manipulation by the bourgeois press, was truly a success. Most of the working class in the country's major centers did not go to work. And this was followed in many cities by representative or massive mobilizations, for local demands, against police brutality, against local governments, as was the case in Rio de Janeiro, Vitória, Porto Alegre, etc. All this put the masses back in motion, acting in concrete political struggle and using the streets as a space for dispute.

And what does this mean from a programmatic point of view?

From a programmatic point of view, we are witnessing a convergence of two poles: on one side, youth contesting the way politics is done, the lack of representativeness in Congress, the Judiciary, and governments. They are exposing the gravity of the urban crisis, the state of transportation, and life in cities. They are also criticizing Globo Network and supporting the democratization of the media. On the other side, with the entry of organized sectors of the working class onto the scene, demands for structural reforms related to the socioeconomic needs of the entire population have been placed on the agenda. These include guaranteeing social rights, opposing the outsourcing law and the precariousness of working conditions, reducing the working day, and addressing the pension factor. Also included are demands for national sovereignty against oil auctions and economic policy against high interest rates, and for a tax reform that revises the primary surplus policy that has been applied since the FHC government.

Why did President Dilma's proposal to hold a constituent assembly and a plebiscite fail?

President Dilma felt the clamor from the streets and initially proposed holding a constituent assembly and calling an official plebiscite to consult the people about these changes. It was a good initiative, although the proposed plebiscite was related to minor electoral changes that didn't have the greater relevance of political reform. But, incredibly, she was boycotted and defeated. First, by her parliamentary base, which in reality isn't the government's base, but rather the base of the companies that financed her campaigns. Second, she was boycotted by the PMDB and part of the PT's own caucus. And so, any possibility of political change through the current Congress is definitively buried. In other words, it has been proven, once again, that nobody cuts their own privileges. Worse still, amidst all this mobilization, the main representatives of the constituted powers behaved with scorn towards the demands of the streets, using FAB jets to attend parties and national team games. And the shenanigans of the president of the Supreme Federal Court with his perks, his promiscuity with Globo, employing a son, and the accusation that he received more than 500 reais without working from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). All this has left the president politically defeated. I think her future now depends on a lot of courage. First, she should carry out a ministerial reform to immediately replace several ministers in the political area, the Civil House, Justice, and Communications who have not yet listened to the people... And give proof that she wants to change. She should distance herself from the PMDB as quickly as possible and continue listening to the people!

How do you view the behavior and objectives of the Brazilian bourgeoisie in the face of these mobilizations?

The organized sectors of the Brazilian bourgeoisie, representing it in various spheres, were also stunned by the mobilizations, unsure of what to do and tentatively testing their tactics. Consider Globo's own shifting stance or the instructions they gave to their military police. They remain divided. One part continues to support the Dilma government, although they would prefer Lula's return to provide more security to the class pact established in 2002. Another part of the bourgeoisie, more linked to agribusiness and the rentier sector of financial capital, is mobilized around a single objective: to weaken the Dilma government as much as possible in order to reap the benefits in the 2014 elections. However, they still lack a candidate who can represent their interests while simultaneously capitalizing on the desire for change in the streets. This is because they are not the change; they represent regression, a return to neoliberal programs, and greater dependence of Brazil on foreign interests. They will continue trying to motivate the youth to embrace reactionary themes or use September 7th to exalt the nation, as they did in the past. But, luckily for us, I think they're also in trouble, as the saying goes. And the youth didn't buy into it. And with the entry of the working class onto the scene, themes of class struggle were brought to the streets.

What should happen on the streets from now on?

It's very difficult to predict how things will unfold. It's certain that mobilizations will continue. Both in specific cases against local issues, such as the case of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, the tolls in Vitória, the fight for zero fares, which is only just beginning... And the organized sectors of the working class have already planned several mobilizations throughout August. On August 6th, we will have demonstrations by union sectors in front of all employers' headquarters against the outsourcing project and for the reduction of the workday. In the week of August 12th, we will have a large mobilization of young students on issues related to education. On August 30th, a new national strike is scheduled with the same political and economic agenda as the mobilization on July 11th. I am sure that this strike will be even more significant. And in the week of September 7th, we will have mobilizations against the oil and electricity auctions, the mobilizations of the cry of the excluded involving church pastoral groups, etc. Thus, we will have a very active August. But the main point is that we believe a new historical period of mass mobilizations is opening up, which will be prolonged until the correlation of political forces within the institutional framework changes.

And what is the proposal of social movements in the face of this situation?

Given this situation, we have been discussing within social movements and holding numerous local, state, and national plenary sessions in various spaces to coordinate our unified steps. We believe we should encourage all types of mass mobilization in the streets, as I described regarding the month of August. On the other hand, the only short-term political solution is to fight for the convocation of an exclusive constituent assembly to promote the political reforms that will open the way for the necessary structural reforms. Since Congress does not want a constituent assembly and defeated the government itself, it is up to the popular forces to mobilize and independently call a popular plebiscite asking the people a single question: do you think an exclusive constituent assembly is necessary to carry out the reforms? And with this popular plebiscite, organized by ourselves, we could gather millions of votes, for example, between September and November, and then hold a large march to Brasília and deliver the proposal to parliament, so that they can convene the election of the constituent assembly along with the 2014 election. And then we would have a temporary Congress, functioning, and another constituent assembly that would have, for example, six months (during the first half of 2015) to promote the reforms that the streets are demanding. On August 5th, we will hold a national plenary session of all Brazilian social movements to debate this and other proposals and then take the necessary steps. I hope that the leaders who happen to read this interview will be motivated to participate in this important plenary session that will be held in São Paulo.

But do you think this proposal has political viability?

Right now we are consulting extensively with social movements, political parties, and popular forces, and the acceptance is very high. If we manage to organize a popular plebiscite and it gathers millions of votes, that will be the pressure to find a political solution. If we don't make a constituent assembly viable, we will enter a prolonged political crisis whose unfolding is unknown. Especially since the 2014 elections will not resolve the impasses created in the streets.