Communist Party of Ireland welcomes the reaffirmed position of Brazilian people in rejecting reactionary, racist, anti-worker bolsonarismo. Re-election of President Lula has shown the importance of popular organising and community work in a long and difficult election campaign. Brazilian community in Ireland mobilised in their thousands; our Party members and many others living in Ireland joined the energetic campaigning, protesting, and public celebration of this left-wing organising success. Lula’s win, however, was in no way a given.
The US imperialism, waging a hybrid offensive all across Latin America, wasted no opportunity to interfere with the democratic processes in Brazil. The open collaboration of the US multinational capital with right-wing political circles in Brazil took shape of mass social media manipulation. This act was widely protested across the globe, with a particularly important demonstration in Dublin, targeting European headquarters of Meta. Corporate poisoning of the public discourse through technological manipulation is in many ways similar to the poisoning of the land, water, and food the Amazon and Brazil in general have seen over the years.
Same forces of destruction and manipulation are at work in Ireland, with different tools and effects, but the same goals and motives. As President Lula repeatedly pointed out throughout the campaign, Brazil is amidst struggle for its sovereignty and freedom to choose a path for its development and prosperity in a world where US unipolar obsession has no future. This struggle is by no means restricted to an election or to the question of presidency. The people and the state have a long road ahead, with grave threats seeking to drag Brazil into disarray and complicity with imperialist forces. Brazil’s internationalist solidarity is at a difficult test: across Latin America, the US has succeeded in installing new reactionary forces into power; in Venezuela and in Cuba, US interference is particularly vicious, plunderous and murderous.
Ireland has lessons to learn from Brazil, as the attacks on sovereignty of both countries mount. As Lula exclaimed in New York at this year’s United Nations General Assembly session, Brazilian democracy belongs to the Brazilian people. Brazil will continue to be a sovereign country.
A democracia brasileira pertence aos brasileiros. O Brasil continuará sendo um país soberano.
