A-Infos (en) Brazil, OSL, Libera #182 - MAY 1ST: FRAGMENTATION, EMPTYING OF BUREAUCRACY, AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE STRUGGLE FOR THE BASE (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

May Day is the most important day for the working class. For over a 
century, workers around the world have gathered on this date to fight 
for a reduction in working hours and against social injustices. Amid a 
scenario of fragmentation and bureaucracy within the unions, taking to 
the streets alongside a more combative sector is an important task at 
this time. ---- In much of the country, the CUT (Unified Labor Union) 
and the PT (Workers' Party) backed down from their participation on the 
day, weakening their presence and not organizing their own 
demonstrations. The unions returned to celebrating the date with the old 
"pague" attitude: in São Paulo, the "unified" May Day between the CSB 
(Brazilian Socialist Workers' Party), Força Sindical (Union of Workers' 
Unions), UGT (Union of Workers' Unions), CTB (Central Labor Union), NCST 
(National Labor Union), Pública (Public Workers' Union), and support 
from the CUT (Central Labor Union) featured mega-shows and a raffle for 
ten cars. The emphasis ended up being on the strength of each side in 
the context of the government's detachment from taking up class-based 
causes. The protests with more combative causes increased compared to 
recent years and were the largest, with the fight against the 6x1 scale 
as their central issue.
OSL activists took to the streets according to the reality of each 
location, critically articulating their stance on the Lula/Alckmin 
administration and the need for class independence to advance 
working-class gains. In our interventions at the protests, we spoke 
about the need to maintain the struggles in the streets and in the 
workplace, and not to trust in politicking and backroom deals with 
bosses and politicians, even if they present themselves as allies.

Overall, May Day highlighted the fragmentation of the popular movement, 
the crisis of the labor movement, and the central contradiction between 
the concrete demands of the working class and the electoral interests of 
party leaderships. The demonstrations across the country lacked unity of 
action and, with a few exceptions, lacked the broad participation and 
support of the oppressed classes. This dispersion is a direct result of 
the policies of the main trade unions and parties that make up the Broad 
Front supporting the Lula/Alckmin administration, which prioritized the 
government at a time of declining approval ratings, with an eye on the 
2026 elections.
Lula, who did not attend the union bureaucracy's rallies this year 
(after the failure of the 2024 rally), opted for a nationally televised 
address on April 30th, promising a reduction in working hours, 
attempting to balance the interests of his electoral base without 
clashing with the interests of business leaders and congressional allies.
Among the positive points, the opposition to the 6x1 work shift proved 
to be an important point for mobilizing the working class, which helped 
give meaning to the May Day demonstrations, which had recently served 
more as a day of celebration, remembrance, and electoral platform. The 
challenge now is to mobilize the agenda for the daily lives of the 
working class, beyond large-scale demonstrations and bureaucratized 
entities.

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