President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party) attended an event on Wednesday afternoon (1) organized by Brazil’s Central Workers' Union (CUT, in Portuguese) and other trade unions to celebrate Workers’ Day in the parking lot of Neo Química Arena (also known as Corinthians’ stadium) in São Paulo. Lula was joined by leaders of popular movements, ministers and pre-candidates for the 2024 elections, such as federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (Socialism and Freedom Party).
Lula’s speech
Around 2 pm local time, the president began his speech. He signed two decrees regarding the Individual Income Tax (IRPF, in Portuguese) table and the recommendation of decent conditions for domestic workers.
Lula recalled his promise to exempt people with a monthly income of less than BRL5,000 (US$979) from paying IRPF. "I'm telling you: I keep my word. As of today, those who earn BRL2,864 (US$560) pay zero income tax, and we're going to reach BRL5,000."
The head of the Brazilian Executive power recalled the government's achievements and used his speech to appease reports that there was a crisis with the Legislative power. "If you follow the press every day, it gives the impression that there is a war between the government and the National Congress," he said.
Among the achievements mentioned were the approval of tax reform with tax exemptions on basic-needs grocery package items and the Terra da Gente program (Our Land, in a rough translation), which aims to bring together land available for agrarian reform to speed up land distribution; and the Pé-De-Meia program, which seeks to reduce school dropouts through payments to public school students who attend classes regularly and have good grades in high school.
Lula thanked the Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, Geraldo Alckmin; the Minister of Women, Cida Gonçalves; the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco; the Minister of Sport, André Fufuca; the Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho; and the head of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Márcio Macedo. All these ministers attended the event.
Privatization and the 2024 elections
Leaders of popular movements who spoke during the event took the opportunity to criticize the advance of the privatization of the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp, in Portuguese) promoted by the São Paulo state government and the São Paulo city government. "Our deputies who were against privatization were tear-gassed in the face because they were defending the population," recalled Ivone Silva, from the São Paulo Bank Workers' Union.
"That’s absurd because we know how our electric energy is," Silva recalled, referring to the constant blackouts that have recently hit the state of São Paulo.
Gilmar Mauro, leader of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST, in Portuguese), also spoke about the state government's land project. "700,000 hectares of land have been stolen, and now Governor Tarcísio is handing it over to farmers."
"We are going through a liquidation process," said José Faggian, the president of Sintaema (Union of Water, Sewage and Environmental Workers of the State of São Paulo). "This is the project Governor Tarcísio is developing here in São Paulo."
Amid the criticism of the current state and city management, there were also numerous demonstrations of support for Guilherme Boulos' pre-candidacy for mayor.
Women's rights
During the event, another constant topic in the speeches was women's rights, which were reinforced by President Lula. "All of our policies focus on women, who have the most responsibility for looking after the family in this country," he said about the government's new initiatives to make it easier to access credit.
Labor Minister Luiz Marinho recalled that the Brazilian president had signed the Equal Pay Law, which made it compulsory for companies with more than 100 employees to report on their employees' salaries. However, the measure was challenged in court by several companies.
"The judge said in her order that the Ministry of Labor doesn't need the report because there is a previous law authorizing inspection. I understood the message. I determined it to the inspection sector", said Marinho.
The people at the demonstration
"Coming here is a reminder of all the rights we have. They didn't fall from the sky. They're the result of many struggles," said teacher Emílio Carlos. "The great transformations and advances that we have here in the country come from the working class," said teacher Elisa Pompeu.
"Today's act is part of what we do every year. For the first time we held it at the Corinthians stadium [one of the most famous Brazilian soccer teams], but it's an act for workers' day," said a member of the Movement of Homeless Workers (MTST, in Portuguese) who took part in the demonstration. "Our banner is 'Jobs for all and a fairer Brazil'."
Another demonstrator, who has recently started to get closer to the trade union movement, explained why he chose to take part in the demonstration: "Politics isn't just about parties. We have to be out on the streets doing grassroots work."
Edited by: Monyse Ravena
