During her year and a half as president of the PT (Workers' Party), Ana Lúcia allied herself with Rogério.

247 - The Leftist Articulation, a faction led by state representative Ana Lúcia Menezes and city councilman Iran Barbosa, has decided to support federal representative Rogério Carvalho in the second round of the Workers' Party's internal elections in Sergipe. Rogério is running for the presidency of the party in the state against fellow federal representative Márcio Macêdo. In exchange for the support of Ana and Iran, who will become, respectively, the vice-presidential candidates for Rogério and state representative Francisco Gualberto (who is running for president of the PT's Aracaju branch), if elected, the party presidency – both in the state branch and in the Aracaju branch – will be shared. That is, Rogério and Gualberto will be presidents for two and a half years, and Ana and Iran will hold these positions for one and a half years.

"The support is based on programmatic frameworks and concrete proposals for the functioning and performance of the Workers' Party in Sergipe, in three essential points: party functioning; electoral issues; and the relationship between the party, the government, and the labor/social movement. Therefore, the support of the Left Articulation is established from the moment that candidate Rogério Carvalho commits to these proposals, which are outlined below. Aiming to build a new moment in the party leadership with the protagonism of the various tendencies and groups that make up the party, to implement the practice of alternating the State Presidency and the Presidency of the Municipal Directorate of Aracaju, under the following terms: two and a half years for Rogério Carvalho/Francisco Gualberto; and one and a half years for Ana Lúcia/Iran Barbosa," states the document from the group.

Below is the full text:

Position of the Leftist Alliance regarding the PT elections in Sergipe.

The Left Articulation – the socialist wing of the Workers' Party – is making public its assessment of the PT's Direct Election Process and stating its position regarding the second round of the party's elections in Sergipe.

First, AE salutes the PT militants who, at the polls, entrusted us with 16% of the valid votes at the state level. We understand that this vote points to a militant willingness to contest the direction of the PT's strategy, signaled by the candidacies of Iran Barbosa in Aracaju; Ana Lúcia in Sergipe; Valter Pomar nationally; and in several other municipal slates throughout the state.

In addition to the 16% in our state-level candidacy, we elected Presidents in the following Municipal Directorates of the party: Amparo do São Francisco, Boquim, Campo do Brito, Canindé de São Francisco, Itaporanga, Japaratuba, Japoatã, Monte Alegre, Neópolis, Pacatuba, Pirambu and Tobias Barreto.

At the national level, we maintained one seat on the National Executive Committee – which will be filled by our comrade Bruno Elias, a young and combative activist from the Left Articulation – and the same composition on the National Directorate, with 4 seats.

Here in Sergipe, party members have endorsed two candidates for the second round of the PT elections: Rogério Carvalho and Márcio Macedo. For us, from the Left Articulation, both candidates historically belong to the same political camp within the PT, which has dominated the party's positions since 1995.

In this sense, the Left Articulation reaffirms its defense of a left-wing, socialist, and revolutionary PT (Workers' Party), as well as its historical and strategic differences with the majority camp, such as our opposition to Foundations in healthcare and the State Government's misguided treatment of the labor movement.

The second round of voting will only determine the State President of the party. The State Directorate – composed of 46 members plus the President and the leader of the party's caucus in the Legislative Assembly of Sergipe (ALESE) – was already defined in the first round, based on the voting of the slates, with the following proportions: 18 seats for the "Militancy Present, Strong Party" slate; 18 seats for the "The Party that Changes Sergipe" slate; 7 seats for our slate: "Let's Change the PT to Change Sergipe"; and 3 seats for the slate headed by Severino Bispo. Without a doubt, this composition signals a positive balance of power, in which none of the groups obtained an absolute majority. This means that, during the four years of management, political debate and dialogue between all tendencies should be the keynote in the PT Sergipe.

The vote we obtained for the State Presidency in the first round (1066 votes) placed us in a strategic position in the second round, which was proven by the openness of dialogue between the two candidates and our faction.

Given this, the Left Articulation Directorate opened a democratic and transparent debate process with all the militants that make up the tendency. On the 12th and 13th of this month we held Plenary sessions with leaders and militants of the AE in Aracaju and municipalities in the interior of the state, in order to listen to and discuss existing positions. On Thursday (14), the AE Directorate – legitimized by all the militants of the tendency – had meetings with the two candidates who are in the second round. Finally, this Saturday (16) we held a Seminar to, based on the accumulation of internal discussions and dialogue with the candidates, define the Left Articulation's position in this second round.

Throughout this process, we have sought to build paths and proposals that strengthen, rather than harm, the Left Articulation as a combative and socialist tendency within the Workers' Party. Therefore, our position in the second round will in no way diminish our autonomy or our critical and constructive stance within the PT. We will remain as the PT's militants and the people of Sergipe know us.

More than the candidates themselves, the debates that formed the basis of our position were based on concrete proposals. In this sense, considering the debates held within the movement, the dialogues and meetings with groups supporting both candidates, and the proposals presented to us, we have decided to support candidate Rogério Carvalho.

The support is based on programmatic frameworks and concrete proposals for the functioning and operation of the Workers' Party in Sergipe, focusing on three essential points: the party's functioning; electoral issues; and the relationship between the party, the government, and the labor/social movement. Therefore, the support of the Left Articulation is established from the moment candidate Rogério Carvalho commits to these proposals, which are outlined below.

Hours

1. In order to build a new era in party leadership, with the protagonism of the various tendencies and groups that make up the party, implement the practice of rotation in the State Presidency and in the Presidency of the Municipal Directorate of Aracaju, under the following terms: two and a half years for Rogério Carvalho/Francisco Gualberto; and one and a half years for Ana Lúcia/Iran Barbosa;

2. To strengthen Professor Dudu's candidacy for President of the Municipal Directorate of Estância;

3. To promote the functioning of the sectorial bodies, guaranteeing the autonomy and plurality/diversity of these bodies;

4. Guarantee the autonomy and legitimacy of the bodies in relation to the party, mandates, and the Government;

5. Ensure transparency in party management, with financial autonomy and broad disclosure of expenses;

6. Implement a meeting schedule that includes ongoing political training activities for members;

7. Establish a party communication policy, using its own resources, that informs its members and engages in dialogue with society;

8. To maintain an up-to-date register of party members permanently, making it available to the entire leadership;

9. Commitment to visit and meet with PT (Workers' Party) activists in the following municipalities before the second round of elections: Boquim, Canindé, Monte Alegre, and Salgado.

Electoral issue

10. To promote, in February 2014, a seminar to analyze the current situation and assess the PT (Workers' Party) administrations in Sergipe, involving the labor/social movement. Based on this seminar, to establish a permanent forum for political discussion that identifies the party's programmatic axes for 2014 and debates and builds a policy of alliances within the historical framework of the Workers' Party;

11. Create an Electoral Working Group that, in addition to the municipalities that already have their own party candidates, will strengthen the PT as an alternative in the following municipalities, given their strategic importance: Boquim, Canindé, Monte Alegre, Porto da Folha, Japaratuba, Japoatã, Estância, Salgado, and Aracaju;

Relationship between the Workers' Party (PT), the Government, and the Trade Union/Social Movement

12. That the PT (Workers' Party) take a stand in favor of establishing and operating a permanent negotiation table between the Government and the labor movement;

13. That the PT (Workers' Party) take a stand in favor of labor and social movements that have been suffering threats and tensions. In these cases, the PT should provide political support and advice, including legal assistance.

Leftist Articulation – Sergipe
November 16th, 2013