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An historic conference
A clear shift to the left
THE eighth national conference of the Workers Party (PT), which took place from June 11 to 13, confirmed the growing strength in the party of positions with a clearly leftwing orientation as well as the heightened unity of party members — two important factors, given the fact that the Brazilian and
International Viewpoint #247 July 1993
THE general orientation of the resolution approved by the eighth national conference of the
Workers Party (PT) — the text "A leftwing option"- aims to international press forecast a very different outcome.
deepen and radicalise the strategy
The conference ratified an explicitly class struggle, democratic and popular for a popular and democratic orientation for the party, as well as an agreement on struggles for antialternative, developed by the monopoly and anti-imperialist reforms and against big landowners. This was party at its fifth national a product of the experience amassed since the first congress of the party in
December 1991 and the programmatic arsenal that has been assembled - conference and put forward as a not without conflicts and tensions - during 14 years of existence.
social project in the programme of
Since the 1991 congress, Brazil has seen the fall of former President Collor, the Lula presidential candidacy in the municipal and federal elections in at the end of 1992, the deepening of
1989.
the political and economic crisis under the Itamar government — as well as the departure from the PT of people such as Luiza Erundina, ex-mayor of
JOSÉ CORREA -
São Paulo, who decided to join the new federal administration, with the idea of playing a leading role in the formation of "centre-left" alliances proposed
São Paulo, June 18, 1993 by the most conservative elements of the party.
Against this backdrop and the upcoming elections in 1994, the objective of
T
HIS text asserts that "to carry the gathering - like the preparatory discussions which preceded it - was out deep-going reforms in Brato draw up a balance sheet of the party's line, to find alternatives to overcozilian society implies breaking me the current impasse of the leadership, and to advance in the direction of or severely limiting the power a strategy which could bring the PT to power.
of dominant groups. This process occupies a central role in our society's democratic revolution - which will make a clean break from the current structures of power head of the parliamentary group, Vladimir Pereira, and the "Socialist Orientaand opens the way to the building of a radition" current — synthesises the aspirations of the PT rank-and-file to consocally different society."
lidate a project which would see the party gain political and social hegemo-
It emphasises the anti-monopoly, anti- imperialist and anti-big landlord character
This project means being very specific about the policy of alliances, the kind of the reforms proposed by the PT, as well of social mobilisations to organise from now on, the role of the party, and as the need for alliances on the basis of the above all the type of government the PT proposes to lead. On this matter, it democratic and popular programme. The should be recalled that the first congress of the PT had already adopted a resolution is introduced by a self-critical political line favouring the left of the party, but that at the time the forces text on the previous orientation of the party, behind this orientation were not strong enough to have a consequent impact and calls for a change in the party's line and a renewal of the leadership.
Today, not only has the practice of the last year and a half served to confirm
The eight proposed political texts prethe validity of these positions, but changes in the national leadership of the sented for discussion at the conference were party — which now reflects the actual relationship of forces between the difreduced to four — that of "Radical Demoferent currents in the party - mean that many tensions and contradictions cracy", supported by the members of the built up in the past will be overcome. - Alfonso Moro *
"Project for Brazil" current!; that of the
"Articulation-Unity in Struggle" current?, which included most of the signataries of the "Policy for a new hegemony" text presented by the Minas Gerais PT3; that of the
"PT in Struggle" current; and, finally, the
"Leftwing option", itself a fruit of the fusion of four texts (see box).
The political theses agreed on the Friday afternoon incorporated a large number of the amendments proposed by "Unity in ny within the population.
outside the party. Struggle" and by "PT in Struggle". Among these amendments, the following should be highlighted:
• an amendment from "Unity in Struggle" on the union movement, further amended by the authors of the "Leftwing option" theses, which blames the deepening of the crisis in the United Workers Confederation (CUT) on the absence of clear
1. "A Project for Brazil" is a former part of the PT leftwing, which has since made a social democratic turn. It can be considered the most reformist wing of the party.
2. "Articulation" is the former majority current of the PT, and received 46% of votes at the first congress of the PT in November 1991. The two currents which are its successors got 47.3% of the delegates — 29.3% for "Unity in Struggle" and 18% for "Hour of Truth".
3. Minas Gerais is a big state in the southcentral part of Brazil. This proposed political text, "Policy for a new hegemony", was written by the "Unity in Struggle" current, by "Socialist Democracy" and indendent sectors of the PT.
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BRAZIL
International Viewpoint #247 July 1993 union orientation by the PT, and proposes that a national gathering of PT union activists be held in the second half of this year.
• an amendment from "PT in Struggle" on the fight against the current parliament's proposed constitutional reforms.
• an amendment from "Unity in Struggle" elaborating the PT's international political positions.
An editorial committee composed of representatives of the different currents adopted by consensus a text on proposals for the PT's economic policy - fusing the texts of the "Unity in Struggle" and "PT in Struggle" currents.
This text attenuates what, in the political theses, was seen to be an exaggeration of the role of the state in the economy and corrects the erroneous view developed by "Unity in Struggle" on the links of the Brazilian economy with the world market -translated in the formula "competitive insertion of Brazil in the world economy". Six amendments proposed by "Radical Democracy" and three proposals from "PT in Struggle", among others, were not integrated into the political theses.
The press focused above all on the debate around alliances, even though this subject has become less acutely posed among PT members since the entry of Fernando Henrique into the Ministry of Finance. The political resolution asserts that, "The PT must propose to those forces interested in a popular and democratic government a policy of alliances around a government programme, to oppose the elite political forces, divided between the candidacy of Maluf and that of the 'third way"."
The resolution goes on to describe the political scene and examine in detail the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) and the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB).6 Concerning this latter party, it says, "While it is not part of the popular and democratic camp, the PSB has progressive sectors.
Today, the search for a third way holds sway in the PSDB, but tomorrow it may lean towards us. For this reason, the PT must win the support of its activists and its electorate, beginning in those cities where we already share leaderhsip with them — by accentuating the polarisation in the party between partisans of an alliance around a democratic and popular programme and the others."
This proposal, defended by Vladimir Pereira, won against two others — one which came from an amendment by Augusto de Franco that proposed to suppress the characterisation of the PSB and replace it with a more general text including the Communist Party of Brazil (PC do B), the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), the PDT, PSDB, the Socialist People's Party (PPS), the Unified Socialist Workers Party (PSTU) and the Green Party (PV)?
The other, defended by Rogério Correia, while supporting the argument that there are progressive sectors in the PSDB, said, "Today, the search for a third way holds sway in the PSDB. The PT must win the support of its activists and its electorate - by accentuating the polarisation in the party with proposals for an alliance around a democratic and popular programme."
The amendments presented by "Radical Democracy" were for the most part related to questions of the institutions and "governability". A supplementary amendment describing the centrality of social struggles for structural reforms under a popular and democratic government was passed. It stated, "This mobilisation will let us create a spectrum of alliances that will facilitate the work in parliament, by exerting pressure through the indispensable broadening of the parliamentary base of the government."
Two other amendments were rejected —one which proposed to suppress the section in the political theses which argued that the PT should try to force possible allies to withdraw from the current Itamar Franco government; the other on the PT's conception of "governability".
This latter amendment proposed to replace the paragraph which states, pace of the application of the popular democratic programme will be defined by the relationship of forces existing in society, in particular by the level of mass mobilisation and self-organisation." Their defeated amendment read, "we are going to implement a policy of selective losses — keeping mind that that we can't confront all our adversaries at the same time."
"PT in Struggle" proposed an amendment, which was defeated, to the political theses, criticising the PT's intervention in the camaras setoriais — price and cost-setting bodies with representatives from the employers, the unions and the government — a theme absent from the initial text.
An amendment proposing that the PT invest itself in a campaign calling for the early holding of upcoming presidential elections was also rejected — as was an amendment that proposed a change in the current practice of systematically linking regional and national alliances and one that denounced all PT relations with social democracy.
In general, it can be said that there was political homogeneity in the majority of political texts proposed to the conference. In the end, pressure in the direction of a change in the party's orientation - clearly voiced in the majority of gatherings in the different states — was expressed not only through a recomposition of political forces inside the PT and of the texts presented at the outset, but also by the existence of a broad spectrum of political formulations in the final resolution, passed following the incorporation of a number of amendments. *
4. "PT in Struggle" is the product of the convergence of several currents, the main one being that of peasant base of "Articulation". This current had 19.1% of delegates. "Socialst Democracy" is the PT tendency organised by members of the Fourth International.
5. On the entry of Luiza Erundina, former PT mayor of São Paulo, and Fernando Henrique, an economist considered to be close to the PT, into the government, see "The temptations of office", João Machado, IV 243, March 1993.
6. The PDT is the political heir of the Brazilian populist tradition, but which has become increasingly social democratic. Its roots are primarily in the south of the country and its main electoral support comes from Rio de Janeiro. The PSDB is a party which is not traditionally linked to the popular and democratic movement and is halfway between social democracy and traditional liberalism.
7. The Communist Party of Brazil (PC do B) is the formerly pro-Albania Stalinist party; the PSB is another party which can be considered social democrat; the PPS is the new name of the majority from the former Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), previously pro-Moscow and very pro-Gorbachev in its final days; the PSTU is the party created by the former "Socialist Convergence" current, which split last year from the PT and is connected to the Argentina-based Moreno current. The PV is a small leftwing ecologist organisation.
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