At International Socialist Alternative’s World Congress in December, we spoke to André Ferrari from Liberdade, Socialismo e Revolucão – ISA’s section in Brazil, which is also part of the left-wing PSOL party. We discussed with André the recent elections in Brazil and the work of Marxists fighting to build a struggle for a socialist opposition to the far right and the political establishment.
In October Brazil held local elections throughout the country. Can you tell us a bit about what the situation in Brazil looks like following these elections?
These elections aren’t the kind that have a big national impact normally. But this one was particularly important since it was a way to get an idea of the balance of forces following the electoral defeat of Bolsonaro in 2022, and after the failed coup in January 2023 which were a setback for the far right.
One key takeaway was that Lula (Brazil’s President) did not get a good result. His party, the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores – PT) won a few more mayoral seats, in an election where more than 5,000 cities held elections. But in reality this wasn’t a recovery in terms of the space that the PT lost in the past years. For instance, only in one state capital were they able to win – in Fortaleza, in the Northeastern state of Ceará. We also saw in Rio De Janeiro, Recife and some other cities, the candidates supported by the PT won, but they were from the centre-right, as part of a broad front organised by the PT.
The far right also got some important results. Bolsonaro’s far-right Liberal Party (PL) got some improved numbers, but the main victory for the right was in São Paulo, where Ricardo Nunes was reelected city mayor. This is also a victory for the Governor of the state of São Paulo, Tarcisio De Freitas, who supported Nunes, and will most likely be the candidate of the far right in the 2026 elections, because Bolsonaro is no longer allowed to stand as a candidate.
These elections were characterised, in part, by the question of who will be the far right’s candidate in 2026. There are a number of new independent far right candidates appearing on the scene. In São Paulo for example, we also saw Pablo Marçal, who is a new name on the far right. He is an extremely reactionary figure who almost got through to the second round of elections.
The candidate of the left in São Paulo was Guilherme Boulos, who is one of the main public figures of PSOL – and who was supported by the PT. The profile of the campaign, and its general politics, were more linked with the PT’s positions than traditional left-wing PSOL positions. It was a very moderate campaign, based on trying to convince the middle class sectors in society. But although his campaign was worse politically than his previous campaign in 2020, with the programme and left profile being downgraded – Boulos lost. In the second round, he received the same vote he received in 2020.
So in general, these elections were bad for the PT and its allies. But while the far right made some gains, it was the traditional right wing ‘Centrão’ – who are happy to support candidates from the PT and from the right to maintain their positions – that made the biggest gains.
Lula won the Presidential Election 2 years ago, so why do you think these elections went so badly for the PT?
Generally, in local elections, it is easier for traditional politicians to get votes on local issues, rather than reflecting so much the national questions. But Brazil is a very unequal country – we have seen inflation in recent years, and living conditions are still very bad, even if it is not the catastrophe of Bolsonaro and the pandemic. However, there has not been a substantial change, so there is also an element of frustration in what the government represents.
Lula himself still has the support of a big sector in society, but this isn’t the case so much with the PT itself, or the coalitions it has formed. There is a sense that nobody is putting forward policies that can fundamentally change the situation in the country.
And it is true that Lula won in 2022, but with a tiny majority of less than 2%. So it will still be difficult for him to win a second term as President. Especially now the government is putting forward a new wave of cuts and ‘fiscal adjustments’, answering the demands of the market.
Can you tell us a bit more about what PSOL is? Where did it come from?
In his first years of the Lula government in 2003, Lula adopted a policy of appeasing the bourgeoisie, and showing them that he would not be too radical. He went hard in indicating bourgeois politicians for key positions in the Senat. He appointed the CEO of BankBoston to lead the Central Bank, and implemented the first round of pension ‘reforms’. This provoked a reaction within the workers’ movement, and so even at the start of the first Lula government, they faced strikes and other struggles against the neoliberal policies they were adopting. Out of this, there was a radicalisation of sectors of the workers movement and youth.
Some PT officials decided to vote against these measures in the congress, and were expelled from the PT as a result. This pushed them in the direction of forming a new left alternative, and PSOL was born as part of this dissidence from the PT, alongside other left groups. PSOL was founded to be a left opposition to the Lula government, which was very difficult at first because Lula had strong support, but following the world economic crisis of 2008/9, things began to change. In 2013 we had a big social explosion with a mass movement against right-wing and PT local governments around the question of transport fares. This became a much bigger explosion, raising questions around education, health and other things. But this movement was ultimately defeated, because it didn’t have a clear strategy, leadership or programme to take it to victory.
The mood exploded again against Lula’s successor Dilma Rousseff, who won the election again in 2014 and adopted a very hard policy of cuts, privatisation and austerity. But with the movement in a weak position, following its defeat, the right were able to become more of a factor. They were able to be a part of the mobilisations in a way right-wing forces had not previously been able to, and this movement provoked the impeachment of Rousseff. In reality, it was an institutional coup d’etat, with the right-wing vice-president Michel Temer taking power, backed by sections of the ruling class. But Temer was still from the traditional right-wing establishment, and this opened the way for Bolsonaro, who was seen by many as a newer ‘outsider’ figure.
At that time, with the limits of the PT government, and the experience of a mass movement, PSOL was able to grow, but it wasn’t able to become an alternative to the PT, nor was it able to fully cut across the right. And once Bolsonaro came to power, a new idea took hold that we need to unite against the right. We saw PSOL begin to change its stance from an alternative to the PT, toward growing closer to them.
I suppose that leads us up to the current moment?
Yes, exactly. There was, initially, a debate in PSOL about its position to the current government. It was initially decided that PSOL should maintain a level of independence from the government, but now the situation is different. PSOL is now part of the government and considers itself a party of government. However there is still a left sector of the party which is fighting for independent positions and against the policies of the government, which LSR (ISA in Brazil) is part of.
The question of a left political alternative is being posed in many countries today, from Britain, to the US and beyond. What do you think are the key lessons from the experience of building that opposition in Brazil?
I think the main question is having a clear strategy and programme to arm any left opposition. And that must be linked with the real movements taking place. The only possibility to build a real opposition is to connect these concrete struggles with a general programme that can put forward a political alternative. For this we need a political weapon – a left party linked with workers’ struggles.
But our experience in PSOL is that a new party needs to also be a democratic party, in terms of the role of the rank-and-file of the party. Not a party controlled by MPs or a bureaucracy, but by branches. And we also need a clear strategy for how political change can be won – through struggles, but also pointing toward a workers’ government built around a socialist programme.
The threat of the right means that there is a pressure to concede to the idea that we have to join with other sectors to fight the right. Lesser evilism is the poison of any left alternative. The reason a left alternative is needed is not just to oppose the far right, but also those sectors who open the way for the far right. If we mix our positions with the establishment politicians who are hated in society, we in fact help open the way for the far right.
In Brazil, what is needed right now is a left alternative to the Lula government, because if that doesn’t exist, people will see the Lula government as the left, and look for an alternative – and the far right are positioning themselves as that alternative.
