LGBT Pride Parade Restricts Participation of Labor Unions

Current Brazil Network - Millions of demonstrators are expected at the 22nd LGBT Pride Parade, which will be held this Sunday (3) on Avenida Paulista. Despite the theme of this year's edition being Power for LGBTI+, our vote, our voice, the NGO APOGLBT-SP, which organizes the event, created difficulties for the participation of the trade union movement, to the point that CUT opted not to participate in the march.

According to the Social Policies Secretariat of CUT-SP (Unified Workers' Central of São Paulo), the association organizing the Pride Parade conditioned the union's participation on the payment of a fee, which the organization considered excessive. The Secretariat also sees political motivations behind this stance.

"With this attitude, the current management of the Association has proven its true colors. They claim not to want a political event, but they forget that the Parade is precisely a political event, taking to the streets to defend and guarantee the rights of a population facing many challenges in Brazil, ranging from difficulties in the world of work to thousands of cases of violence and murder. In reality, it's the left-wing organizations that don't want this," states Kelly Domingos, Secretary of Social Policies of CUT-SP, in an article published on the organization's website.

"CUT-SP and its unions have participated in the LGBT Pride Parade since the beginning, even lending equipment and vehicles when the event did not yet receive support from the government and businesses," explains CUT-SP in another part of the report. "Despite not being present at this year's event, CUT-SP reaffirms its fight against discrimination against the LGBT+ population, a cause present throughout its history. In the union world, the organization and its unions, through the LGBT Workers' Collective, work to propose measures that contribute to combating discrimination and violence in the workplace."

Nonsense

While the Pride Parade organizers adopt an exclusionary stance towards labor unions, they also make a compelling statement defending the political representation of LGBT people. The justification for this year's theme criticizes the lack of representation of LGBT individuals in decision-making spheres.

"The fact is that our struggle, even having achieved so many advances in civil society, suffers constant setbacks and threats from conservative factions. It's as if for every step forward, we are pushed two steps back. We have a Congress that is considered the most conservative since 1964, according to the Inter-Union Department of Parliamentary Advisory (Diap). We need to change this situation, and urgently," states the text from APOGLBT-SP.

Anderson Pirota, a union leader, emphasizes the importance of LGBT bank workers voting for progressive candidates in this year's elections, especially in the current context of attacks against workers' rights.

"LGBT bank employees, like all workers, must look to the Legislature and vote for candidates committed to labor laws and the protection of the LGBT community. It is necessary to have laws that protect the entire LGBT community and all workers, given that we are living through a period of coup. And it is clear that the coup was intended to take away rights. The first to lose labor and civil rights are LGBT workers. Therefore, they must vote for progressive candidates," he argues.

The parade is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM in front of the MASP (São Paulo Museum of Art).