On the eve of the first round of the Brazilian elections, a wake-up call has gone out to all those who want to see—and are fighting for—the defeat of the far right and its authoritarian, anti-popular agenda, which serves Trump and US imperialism.
The deep crisis in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the fresh mudslinging stemming from the ‘Banco Master’ corruption scandal have shaken up the country’s political and electoral landscape. What many in the Lula camp had imagined would be a relatively easy victory against a divided and weakened far right has turned out to be a far more contradictory and dangerous scenario.
Justice André Mendonça, the rapporteur for the Master case at the STF, sat on the allegations directly linking Flávio Bolsonaro to the scandal for three months without taking any action. However, on the eve of the first round of the elections, he decided to make public new and extremely serious information about the relationship between fellow Justice Alexandre de Moraes and banker Daniel Vorcaro.
Mendonça Acts in the Interest of Bolsonaro
Mendonça commissioned a report from the Federal Police, cherry-picking what was politically convenient for him from the abundant examples of collusion between the judiciary and the country’s wealthy elite. In doing so, he stirred up a hornet’s nest at the STF and shook up the entire political landscape to serve the interests of Bolsonarism.
The internal conflict within the Supreme Federal Court (STF), set against the backdrop of the Master case, is yet another acute manifestation of a political crisis that cannot be understood merely as a short-term, pre-election phenomenon, although it clearly has that element. The current crisis reflects a structural erosion of the Brazilian political system as a whole.
All efforts by Lula and his supporters to maintain order and stability, to rely on the normal functioning of institutions, and to prioritize reconciliation and agreements are coming up against a national and international reality that is moving in the opposite direction.
We live in a time of great turmoil and crisis for traditional institutions and political forces, where chaos, sudden changes, and intense polarization prevail. Everything that seemed solid is crumbling into thin air.
The Illusion of Stability Crumbles
We are witnessing the collapse of the illusion that Brazil—under a moderate and conciliatory government like Lula’s and a cohesive Supreme Court led by Alexandre de Moraes—could serve as a global model of democratic stability amid an international “crisis of democracies” and the disruptive rise of the far right.
The conviction and imprisonment of Jair Bolsonaro and some of the coup-plotting scoundrels who surrounded him represented a step forward. But this did not even come close to transforming the social and political terrain from which the Bolsonarist far right sprang.
Every effort was made to portray the coup plotters’ conviction as a deal struck by the upper echelons of the judiciary, unrelated to popular mobilization. As a result, the prevailing discourse on the left focused on acknowledging the role played by figures such as Alexandre de Moraes.
Moraes’s stance during the trial of the coup plotters on January 8, 2023, reflected the interests of a faction of the Brazilian bourgeoisie that had assessed the risks of the Bolsonaro adventure and sought to contain it. But this is the same STF (STF) that colluded in the coup that removed Dilma Rousseff from office in 2016 and in Lula’s imprisonment in 2018.
With the trial of the pro-Bolsonaro coup plotters, what came to prevail—as incredible as it may seem—is the fantasy that a strong judiciary, at times playing a semi-Bonapartist role, would serve as a safeguard against threats to democracy. Any emphasis on the need for profound and radical political, economic, and social transformations resulting from the collective struggle of workers and the oppressed people was completely abandoned.
The irrational mythologizing of Alexandre de Moraes—or even the less enthusiastic assessment that he was merely a temporary ally—ended up confusing the most organized sectors of the working class, fostering illusions in purely institutional solutions. On the other hand, this stance also served to associate the image of Lula and the hegemonic left with an institution rightly rejected by the majority of the population.
The Rot at the Heart of the Political System Laid Bare
Reports of orgies, bribes, and corrupt schemes involving Daniel Vorcaro and public officials have served to reinforce this perception, laying bare part of the rotting underbelly of the political system. The branches of government increasingly lack legitimacy in the eyes of a population that does not feel represented and suffers daily from social inequality and a lack of prospects.
The rise of the far right and its authoritarian agenda in Brazil, as in other countries, is directly linked to the failure of a “democratic” regime incapable of meeting the fundamental demands of the people and which exists essentially to serve the “upper echelons.”
This is not merely a matter of the influence of criminals now recognized as such, such as Vorcaro. Even more important and serious than this “lumpen-bourgeoisie” is the role played by the major banks, corporations, and agribusinesses considered “respectable.” It is they who impose austerity policies, budget cuts, sky-high interest rates, and other attacks that ruin the lives of millions while they pocket fortunes through financial speculation and the exploitation of the working class.
It was the PT’s accommodation to the logic of this failed political and economic system that paved the way for the “anti-system” factions—reactionary and authoritarian in nature—as embodied by Bolsonarism and other far-right movements.
The PT suffers today largely because it took upon itself the task of defending a political regime that is rotting from within, relying on figures who have always been on the enemy’s side—such as Alexandre de Moraes—but who appeared to be serving democracy in the face of the far-right’s coup threat.
In the immediate and urgent struggle against the far right—including the electoral process—the task of the left and the workers’ movement is to tear away the veil covering the institutions’ shenanigans. This is exactly the opposite of sitting idly by, hoping that calm will return and that, in the end, there will be more mud on their side than on “ours.”
We must openly denounce the incestuous relationship between the state and the billionaire class and point the way toward a left-wing solution—one of radical transformation—based on the mass struggle, the organization of workers and the people, and the construction of an alternative political project by the workers against the existing order, not in defense of it.
No Illusions in Institutions
There is no doubt that André Mendonça’s release of the report he commissioned from the Federal Police—containing highly compromising messages from Daniel Vorcaro to Alexandre de Moraes—served political and electoral purposes.
Mendonça’s action—as a justice appointed to the STF by Jair Bolsonaro—was an attempt to divert attention from the new and extremely serious allegations involving Flávio Bolsonaro and the millions of dollars he received from Vorcaro under the guise of producing the film Dark Horse.
Mendonça’s accusations also helped stir up Bolsonaro’s base by targeting Alexandre de Moraes, considered the far right’s main target due to his role in the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro and the January 8 coup plotters. Mendonça offered these supporters the head of their “messiah’s” executioner and, as a result, was celebrated by Trump’s sycophantic “patriots”.
Thus, the “terribly evangelical” Justice André Mendonça helped to unite the evangelical base that supported Bolsonarism and to quell its doubts and mistrust in a base that has also been shaken by the serious corruption allegations against Flávio Bolsonaro.
Regardless of what the STF decides regarding the charges against Alexandre de Moraes, there is little doubt that his ties to Daniel Vorcaro seriously compromise him. But he is not the only one, and he is neither more nor less compromised than other public officials, whether on the Supreme Court or in other key institutions of the republic.
New Revelations Every Day
Among other allegations, Mendonça himself had already met with Vorcaro in person at an unscheduled meeting held off the premises of the STF. The meeting took place at the office of Mendonça’s private company, which, incidentally, is also mired in allegations regarding its multimillion-dollar contracts—awarded without competitive bidding—with dozens of municipal and state governments.
The story obviously doesn’t end there. Justice Dias Toffoli’s recusal from the Master Bank case stemmed from his suspicious business dealings with Vorcaro. Justice Nunes Marques’s son was also involved in suspicious transactions with Vorcaro. Every day, new information emerges involving these and other justices.
The disastrous plenary session of the STF, which began addressing the Federal Police report implicating Alexandre de Moraes in the Vorcaro schemes, highlighted the fierce internal conflict and helped expose the underlying corruption. No one is spared in this scandal.
Lifting all secrecy surrounding these investigations is the bare minimum that can be demanded in the face of this scenario of fraud and selective disclosure of information by the STF. But that is not enough. We cannot harbor any illusions that the STF itself or the current institutions will offer a fair resolution to the crisis or ensure that the allegations are properly addressed.
The STF Has Always Served the Elites
Even with a history spanning more than a century of serving the ruling elites and conferring legality on social injustice, there are still those on the left who harbor expectations regarding the STF.
From the workers’ perspective, it is one thing to use internal divisions at the highest levels of power and within the ruling class to clear the path for the class struggle. It is quite another to harbor illusions about the role of any faction of the ruling elites and their institutions.
The fact that Bolsonarism repudiates the STF—as long as it does not hold a majority there—does not transform it into a bastion of democracy, ethics, and justice. Even though he is reviled by the pro-Bolsonaro far right, Alexandre de Moraes remains what he has always been: a representative of our class enemies. It is no different with the others.
We must denounce and reject André Mendonça’s electioneering and anti-democratic maneuvers in the service of the far-right coup plotters. We must remain vigilant against any coup-like schemes. But this does not mean harboring even the slightest illusion about the role of Alexandre de Moraes and the other justices.
Our cause is the punishment of the corrupt and those who corrupt them, within the framework of a radical break with the current political system and its failed institutions—which also implies profound economic and social transformations. We must build strength in this direction, rather than lamenting the “balance of power” and passively accepting the current order.
Lula’s Role—Passivity and Conciliation
From the start of the election campaign, Lula and his supporters have focused primarily on stability, continuity, and political conciliation with potential right-wing opponents, including reconciliation with the “Centrão” (small parties and individual deputies for hire in congress) and efforts to ease the tension in their relationship with sectors of the bourgeoisie.
It is worth recalling that one day before the public release of the messages exchanged between Daniel Vorcaro and Alexandre de Moraes, Lula and his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, met at the Alvorada Palace with the barons of finance and big business and major business leaders.
At the meeting, Lula praised his vice president and confirmed Geraldo Alckmin’s statement in favor of even stricter fiscal adjustments during the next term. He reaffirmed to the bankers and business leaders his commitment to fiscal responsibility—that is, to more cuts and austerity and, consequently, to further economic slowdown and worsening social indicators.
Shortly before that, Lula had rekindled his relationship with Senate President David Alcolumbre, a leading figure in the “Centrão” coalition—the same man who, just a short time ago, dealt defeats to the government in Congress, including the unprecedented rejection of Lula’s nomination to the Supreme Court. That same Alcolumbre is now stalling and refusing to put the constitutional amendment bill to end the ‘6×1’ (six day working week) —which has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies—to a vote in the Senate.
The People Want and Expect More
The big issue is that you cannot make deals with the “Centrão” and the big bourgeoisie on one hand, and expect not to lose support on the other. The government and Lula’s campaign leadership completely underestimated the sense of frustration felt by broad sectors of the working class with the current administration.
It doesn’t do the government much good to limit itself to emphasizing in the campaign the modest advances made compared to the disaster that was Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. The people wanted and expected more, and the government could not offer more because it was bound by the fiscal framework and so-called fiscal responsibility dictated by the market and its representatives.
While interest rates remain sky-high, the economy is slowing down, and prices for food and basic necessities continue to rise—hitting the poorest families the hardest—the government keeps trying to convince everyone that economic indicators are good.
The harsh reality is that more than half of Brazilians run out of money before the end of the month and cannot cover all their expenses. Household debt has reached historic highs and continues to rise. In total, 82% of households have some level of debt, and 38.5% of households with an income of up to three minimum wages (the vast majority in Brazil) are in default.
It is this reality that must be confronted boldly and radically—along with a denunciation of the rotten political system—so that André Mendonça’s maneuvers in the Supreme Court and the threat from the far right lose their impact.
The struggle to end the 6X1 work week had all the potential to become a major mass movement that would strengthen organization and action in the workplace and on the streets.
This is a cause that has even penetrated the ranks of workers who are deluded by Bolsonarism and could serve to expose the far right as lackeys of big capital and imperialism.
However, the pro-Lula leadership of the social and labor movement chose to present the end of the 6X1 work schedule as the result of successful negotiations by Lula and lawmakers, rather than as the fruit of the struggle. The result is that, following the approval of the bill in the Chamber of Deputies (which was much more moderate than the original bill), a stalemate ensued in the Senate.
The achievement of a reduction in the working week, like other social and labor gains, can only result from the mobilization of workers and the people and the defeat of the economic and political elites.
For a Left Alternative
In the face of the current crisis, we must combine the struggle for a radical transformation of the political system toward a truly democratic system from the workers’ perspective—including the struggles against sexism, racism, and LGBTphobia—with the struggle for economic and social gains that make a real difference for those who earn their living through labor.
With a platform that includes economic and social demands, as well as demands against oppression and imperialism, it would be possible to transform the current political polarization (pro- and anti-Lula or pro- and anti-Bolsonaro) into a genuine social and political polarization of class against class—of the working people against the super-rich. Popular support for ending the 6-day week showed how this is possible.
We must rebuild the left and social movements on these foundations. We must raise the banners of struggle for a reduction of the working week to 30 hours, an increase in the minimum wage to at least meet the requirements of the Constitution, the repeal of labor and social security counter-reforms and privatizations, heavy taxation on the super-rich, and an end to the speculative frenzy surrounding public debt through audits, suspension of payments, and public control over the financial system and key sectors of the economy.
It’s Time to Take to the Streets
In the coming weeks, the struggle to defeat the far right involves defending these causes within the electoral process as well—as several socialist left candidates at all levels are doing, and they deserve our votes.
But it is also time to take to the streets to demand an end to the 6-day week, in support of ongoing strikes, for the right to abortion, for the environment in the face of the worsening climate crisis, and against Trump and corrupt Bolsonarism.
In the runoff election, a critical vote for Lula to defeat Flávio Bolsonaro is necessary. But we must have no illusions that this will bury Bolsonarism. A fourth Lula administration will be one of crisis and will require workers to fight for their rights and build a political force capable of confronting the far right with methods of struggle and an alternative, radical working-class project—one that is anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and socialist.