Last month, the world watched with bated breath as Brazilians voted in two rounds of high-stakes elections that pitted far-right president Jair Bolsonaro against former president, leftist hero, and leader of the Workers Party Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. After being elected president in 2018, Bolsonaro and his far-right movement have unleashed a darkness upon Brazil that has had wide-ranging implications for the country, the hemisphere, and the world. From burning the Amazon and overseeing a disastrous response to the COVID pandemic to stoking fascistic violence, conspiracy theories, and a fervor for religious war among his supporters, Bolsonaro and Bolsonarism have been a political wrecking ball slamming against a world already teetering on the edge of disaster. And that is why so many around Brazil and around the world celebrated when Lula defeated Bolsonaro at the end of October.
What role did workers and working-class voters play in this critical election? What does Lula’s victory mean for working people and for the labor movement in Brazil? How have the lives of working-class people, and the shape of working-class politics, changed in Brazil in recent years and decades? And what can we all do to build international solidarity with our fellow workers in Brazil and beyond? We talk about all of this and more with Fabio Bosco, a retired subway operator in São Paulo, a trade unionist, and an organizer with the labor federation CSP-CONLUTAS.
Additional links/info below...
CSP-Conlutas website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
Michael Fox, The Real News Network/NACLA, Brazil on Fire podcast series
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Indigenous-Led Alliance Moves to Stop Bolsonaro's 'Ecocidal' Destruction of the Amazon"
Michael Fox, In These Times, "Brazil’s Labor Unions Prepare for War with Far-Right President Jair Bolsanaro"
Robert Maisey, Trades Union Congress, "Bolsonaro Is Waging War on Labour Rights in Brazil"
Permanent links below...
Working People Patreon page
Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page
Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)
Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song
Rail Workers of the World, Unite! (w/ Ross Grooters, Cat Cray, Clayton Clive, & Matthieu Bolle-Reddat)
East Palestine, Ohio: A Hell of Wall Street's Making (w/ Matt Weaver)
Happy Birthday, Evan (w/ Amy Chamberlin & Jana Murphy)
Texas Environmental Workers Union (w/ Chloe Torres and Brandon Marks)
Live Show: Organize, Fight, Win (w/ Michelle Valentin Nieves & Harry Marino)
Embodying Degrowth (w/ The Maintainers)
What Could a Worker-Focused Just Transition Look Like? (w/ Megan Milliken Biven, James Hiatt, & Clarke)
Where Do Railroad Workers Go from Here? (w/ Jay, Marilee Taylor, John Tormey, & Matt Parker)
Holiday Season on the Picket Line (w/ Marcques Derby)
Phones Down, Fists Up (w/ Tiffany Murray)
In Key Swing States, Union Members Are the Last Line of Defense (w/ Maggie Acosta, Bryan Villarreal-Vasquez, & Sheila Silver)
Vince Quiles
Alabama Paper Mill Workers Want Their Lives Back (w/ Jacob Morrison)
**In the Name of the Father (w/ Aaron Moritz & Shawn Vulliez)** PATREON EXCLUSIVE
Jonnie Lane
Leo Lindner
For Evan (w/ Ken Seyfried, Eric Seyfried, Amy Chamberlin, Erica Erskine, Jana Murphy, & Austin LiPuma)
Countdown to Midnight (w/ Jay & Joe)
Is the US Headed for a National Rail Strike? (w/ Mel Buer, Jeff Kurtz, & Ron Kaminkow)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL