RE: Lula and Trotskyists

[John Paramo <albatrosrojo2000@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 08:14:43 -0500
> From: Yolcuatl@xxxxxx
> 
> i understand that the pt (workers party) of brazil
> counts amongts its members 
> countless trotskist in its ranks. if so, does anyone
> know what role they play 
> and if they have a major influence within the party
> leadership and 
> orientation? 

There are at least 7-8 trotskysts groups and
organizations inside the PT that generally constitute
its "left wing." There are about a dozen or so
Trotskyists groups outside the PT.

Inside the PT, these are the most influential ones as
far as I can tell:  the independent current of
Trotskyists who work inside EA (Left Articulation),
followed by the block - mingled with EA but grouped
around its own newspaper - fo the USFI (which is INMO,
the second largest influential Trotskyist group inside
the PT); the Lambertist current, who are also
Trotskyists and work around the newspaper O'Trabalho
and a number of other, smaller groups like those
affiliated with the UIT (International Workers Union,
Morenists) and couple other Morenist groups.  The CWI
has a very small tendency as well, called SR
(Revolutionary Socialism).  

Left Articulation / USFI / UIT and other Morenists
make about 27% of all Federal Deputies of the PT (if
they form a block they could be the make or break of
any legislation since Lula needs them for passing laws
and without them, he could not have the majority in
Congress).  There are some discussions about it.  How
far they will go on this is not clear.  This bblock
also has about 25% of the local and provincial elected
officials of the PT.  Some of their members seat at
the CUT Executive Committee.  They are in the
leadership of several unions.  USFI is the closest to
Lula and UIT the further apart in terms of criticism
with the bulk of AE being somewhere in the middle. 
All three were critical of Lula's alliances, but they
went along with a full campaigning for him and the
entire slate.

These internal factions of the PT may become critical
as Lula - contrary to the belief from the distance -
does not represent the most conservative wing of the
PT and his own tendency - while in alliance with the
right wing - is not an equivalent to said right wing.
As the expectations of the mass movement grows and
demands are put on Lula, there will be internal
polarization inside the PT.

O'Trabalho won few local and provincial posts, but is
much weaker than the other tendencies and less
influential.  It suffered a number of right and left
splits in the last decade or two.  They also have two
members in the Executive of the CUT and some influence
in couple of the state employees unions.  Their
position is for a "PT without capitalists" - meaning
the alliances made by Lula to run with a
Vice-President of the Liberal Party and other deals he
is making with the PMDB, etc.

Outside the PT, the largest Trotskyist party is the
PSTU (Unified Socialist Workers Party), affiliated
with the Morenist LIT and, in fact, the leadership of
it since the expulsion of the residues of the
Argentinean MAS.  The PSTU has a very solid tradeunion
and student work of their own.  They got 400,000 votes
in this election (0,5%) which is an small vote but
doubled the number they got last time.  The PSTU is
very critical of Lula and the PT, and at this point
they are concentrating in winning left leaning people
from the PDT, PDTS and other socialdemocratic
formations as well as from the Communist Party do
Brazil (PCdoB).

There is also the PCO (Workers Cause Party),
affiliated with the Argentinean PO, that calls Lula
the representative of big capital and imperialism and
got about 31,000 votes int he last presidential
election (0,04%)

There are other Trotskyists and former Trotskyist
groups in a number of other political parties.  Lula
counts, among his closest advisers with a dozen or so
of former Trotskyists, now working with
socialdemocracy.

You can go to http://www.broadleft.org, go to
"Americas", scroll down to find "Brazil" and you'll
find the official web page of the "Workers Party" and
those of a number of the internal tendencies; you can
also find the web pages of the PSTU and other
Trotskyist groups as well as the web page of the PCdoB
and others.



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