Reflections on the electoral event in Recife in 2012 ---- "Electing a man, or many
masters, either long or short term, means giving the other person the freedom itself.
(...) Means forming Vote traitors, encouraging the worst kind of betrayal. (...) Today
your candidate bows to his presence; tomorrow he snubs. He was always asking for votes
becomes their master. How can a worker, you put the ruling class, be the same as it was
before now that he speaks as an equal with the oppressors? Note the subservience so
evident in each of them after visiting an important industrial, or even the King in his
anteroom in court! The atmosphere of government is not harmony, but corruption. If one of
us is sent to a place so dirty, it is not surprising we get back in deplorable conditions. "
?lis?e Reclus, "Voting is abdicating" (Letter to Jean Grave, 1885).
The policy is made on the day of the fight, not the ballot box. So think about the
elections leads us to analyze what happens in the four years that interleave again and
going to the polling place. Is this path excesses of governments leading to the massacre
of everyday people. The result of the vote only indicates what the next engravatado to
fulfill the role of oppressor, to occupy the structure of the state to implement the rule
of the few over the many.
Discuss the polls in Recife, so this is the first rescue as the townspeople resisted the
oppression of the rulers and, from there, see how the spread of Pernambuco development and
growth process of the Metropolitan Region of Recife only satisfied entrepreneurs and are
not intended to meet popular aspirations.
However, the correlation of forces from the top matter much to anyone who wants to be in
it. Debating dispute subtitles means believing that voting for a candidate will somehow
benefit the people. Apart from fiction electoral politics made the fights proves not.
Fight for housing versus Verticalization
Earlier this year the community of Bom Jesus, in the south, was cruelly expelled in the
name of building the Via Mangue, work that "solve" the problem of traffic jams in the most
motorized city. Under the tune of $ 5000 compensation for the payment of a new property
(!), Police were driven to push, as always, residents or to the edge of town or simply for
a housing development with features concentration camp any . Entire families and workers
of all kinds would simply be expropriated in the name of the production flow of the auto
industry - see the pole attached to the Fiat automobile that will be installed in the
custody of the state government. In good Portuguese, show cars and roads in this case more
have greater relevance to the rule that the lives of citizens and poor residents. The
community resisted: occupied the city council, and soon after, the city and required to
remain in space.
That just described seems to go against the large supply of housing in the city. Who walks
by Reef sees the proliferation of works in various districts. The Homeric speculation
reaches levels as a result of demand for housing generated by the arrival of industry and
the pole of Suape. Construction companies accelerate the pace of delivery of apartments
and Recife turns increasingly into a vertical city. It is the capitalist progress beating
uncomfortably at our doors. And, as expected, hurting people.
None of these housing units supplies the popular demand for housing. Rather. Produced for
a middle class migrants, thousands of apartments will be sold at high interest rates
embedded in the supply of bank loans or rented at prices more expensive every day.
No wonder, the same companies that profit from the speculation of the Metropolitan Region
are benefiting in bidding processes for the "great works" pre-World Cup, like the Queiroz
Galv?o, responsible for the infamous Via Mangue. The big events that come close are
accelerating the expulsion of poor communities like the Bom Jesus through the performance
of works that fit the city for receiving a large volume of tourists in 2013 and 2014.
The "progress" and "economic growth" are built on the destruction of the initiatives of
the oppressed and exploited, who resist and fight to keep what they have earned.
"Cleaning" of the city: street vendors outside!
The traditional high street of the city is threatened. At least since 2011 the sellers are
being coerced to stop working. First, in the central region: the city (on the U.S.) guided
the Dircon, overseer, to withdraw workers from the region of Seven September street and
street Hospice. Who sells snacks near public schools, they said, would also be threatened.
The workers protested and organized and took to the streets and City Hall. With this, the
workers managed to remain the center, but for months, workers removed the Seven September
were without work, waiting for the camel?dromo promised by the city and the jobless.
In the middle of last year it was the turn of barraqueiros the West Zone. The historical
snack stalls built around the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco were threatened with
removal. The first to be threatened were the stalls located in front of the Hospital das
Clinicas, then dumped in an almost cinematic operation as large and truculent. The
approximately 20 stalls, people who were working there almost 20 years ago were surprised
by a force worthy state of war: Dircon, CTTU, Military Police Battalion and shock, and a
helicopter. This whole apparatus surrounded the workers, who made a human rope to try to
prevent the demolition of their source of livelihood. To no avail: the repressive force
toppled the tents. The only guarantee you have not been able to work more there.
The struggle of barraqueiros continues in an attempt to guarantee minimum rights, which
translates to prevent all others are removed. With their organization, evictions in the
region were suspended from the University and are being negotiated. But removals continue
elsewhere.
Now is the North Zone the focus of action "cleanup". The region of the Yellow House, one
of the largest markets of Recife, had a large concentration of traders in the streets and
sidewalks near the camel?dromo official. History repeats itself: cop fired, workers being
harassed and prevented from working by the tax Dircon, criminalization of people. The
excuse used for the removal of a masterpiece is foolproof: trade street "traffic hindered"
(!) ... In addition to steer the conversation to sleep, the real interests behind are
muffled, namely competition with traders tenants, represented by CDL-Recife (Chamber of
Shopkeepers of Recife), besides, of course, the ubiquitous World Cup ...
Mobility?
Getting in Recife is getting harder every day: the whole month of January, on the eve of
the carnival and holiday season, increases the price of the bus ticket. This year was no
different. Over 15 cents in the rate. In response to increasing abuse, again organized
protests to demand the repeal of the measure and report the private character of public
transport in the metropolitan area of ??Recife.
This year, however, the protesters suffered repression rampant. The state government and
the municipal government have proven that they are capable of allowing atrocities to pray
for entrepreneurs playbook transport - a handful of five families that control the entire
fleet. On the first day of protests, the police threw tear gas inside the Law School,
linked to the Federal University of Pernambuco, where, in theory, could not act. The next
day, the police exercised what they do best - throwing bombs as both rubber bullets and
beating up - on a small group of protesters desarmadosque came to kneel before their
assaults on peaceful tone. An exemplary student was assaulted him with a punch that broke
the nose. The battalion attacked everyone, without distinction.
There were so many excesses that even the press, routinely enemy of protests and
demonstrations, spoke out against what was happening in the streets. The government had no
choice but to retreat. But the damage had already been done and thousands of people came
to support in person acts in unison shouting slogans against the state government in the
person of Eduardo Campos, who besides cursed, went there, to be called the "dictator" .
One of the first mass demonstrations against a historic ruling that polls show as having
commonly over 80% approval ...
However, the increase was maintained and, in fry eggs, protesters and the general public
came harmed. Some of those who took part in protests today bear the marks of rubber
bullets in the body and the population is still obliged to, every day, face the drama of
getting just sit in the bus and / or continue to hold Homeric than 30 or 40 minutes in
queues integrations. And, to crown, paying one of the most expensive tickets in Brazil.
Have not those who try to get under the dependence of the bus or the subway using the
bicycle as alternative transportation, not pay the fare, but suffers from the streets
filled with car and without any adjustment for the free transit on two wheels. And when
the city council somehow benefit those going to and from work pedaling, then backtracks on
behalf of better movement of cars.
Shortly before the elections, the CTTU (municipal agency that handles the ordering of
transportation) deployed a ciclofaixa main avenues in the North Zone. Obviously, with the
removal of a range of cars for the use of bicycles, leaving the rest for buses, cars,
taxis, etc., already chaotic traffic in the region worsened. Quickly the bourgeois nearby
residents protested against changes in traffic that indirectly were caused directly by
ciclofaixa and were still motivated by privilege given to private transport. Shortly
thereafter, the city took part ciclofaixa affecting upper-class neighborhoods in the area.
In protest, cyclists painted a promenade in ciclofaixa Rosa e Silva, but the official
ciclofaixa remains unlit.
Twice the poor people were harmed: the increase of the passages further burdens our
pockets because now spends at least U.S. $ 4.30 per day to go to work and come home. Since
the withdrawal of ciclofaixa keeps insecurity in the path of everyday cyclists, many
workers who use simple modal as means of transportation.
In fry eggs, the government's priority is clearly and entrepreneurs and individual
motorized locomotion. With a factory of FIAT, as already said, in Pernambuco and
increasingly cheaper installments for cars and motorcycles, traffic does not flow from
Recife and live with the ghost of works solvers of "traffic problem". Proposals arise from
great works to "improve" urban chaos, like the 10 viaducts that was intended to build on
Magellan Avenue Agamemnon. White elephants created to mask the root problem: the scrapping
of public transport and inconsequent insecurity cyclists stimulate the exponential
increase in the fleet of cars and motorcycles in the city. Winning the oil and automobile
industries. Again the people lose.
The farce of the above and the need for organization from below
During every day of the year, we claim the absurdities mentioned herein and remember how
these elites exploit us. But at election time seems to these figures, in which silent
daily massacre can change something. Our anger is often directed to a politician and vote
for another solution appears. False. Oppressions we suffer every day do not appear in
propaganda. A candidate who asks for vote today will only continue repressing those who
struggle to qualify profits.
From the popular struggles, it is clear that the triad industries, builders and the World
Cup is the true basis of the design of governments and business to the city. It is due to
the false representatives and their policies to foster economy that the people suffer
daily with evictions, homelessness and limited mobility. They create evil with which
promise to finish . And no matter the legend.
It is worth mentioning that this election was the biggest dispute between projects that
are put in left field. One, of the Workers Party (PT), the other, the Brazilian Socialist
Party (PSB). The PT sought to keep the administration of Recife and PSB conquer it, having
as main asset figure of Governor Eduardo Campos as a campaigner.
The PT, which for many has left a good legacy for the city with the administration of the
2000s, PT is the same that led to the front of the works of the Via Mangue, drive out the
inhabitants of Brasilia Stubborn stilts and is taking forward the privatization sheds in
the area of ??Recife Antigo. Since the PSB is the party's grandson Miguel Arraes, which
makes a point of using kinship to secure a slice of power to family members. Blatant
nepotism: his mother, Ana Arraes figure as president of the Court of the state, governed
by his son. Not to mention the absurd crackdown on protests against the increase in
tickets this year, the gradual privatization of health through covenants vested with IMIP,
and the scrapping of public education, with the removal of the 'Plan for Jobs and Careers'
teachers beyond high investments in a false digital inclusion, with the delivery of
tablets for teachers and students, who brings little improvement to the quality of education.
Wonders of managements 'popular' that never appear on the election guide. After all, that
was the right call came in winning elections. The PSDB, a graduate candidate of the Green
Party (PV), won second place in the race and overtook the Workers' Party. First, was the
candidate of the PSB, Geraldo Julio figure previously unknown population, now
representative of the state governor at City Hall and the future of the party executor of
projects for the city - an "orange politics". Finally got the people, spectator whose only
guarantee is the continued destruction of millions of works in the city and thus quality
of life.
Thus, the competition of cinema advertising serves to mask the real practices of
politicians and parties. Practices reproduced by them in social movements, which
constantly try to prevent the fall equip their masks. In fact, parties are cancer
movement, those who fall in the spaces to ensure the stability of the current
self-proclaimed leftist governments or to design new ones. Let's see. Domesticated and
bureaucratized unions serve as transmission belt of central interest to little or nothing
combative, often submissive to the situation ("We can not tarnish the image of the
government"), while the category suffers, the flies, with various attacks. Councils and
residents associations who often undertake merely welfare policies - such as the policy of
distributing milk in communities ('Milk for all') - are eaten by applications intestine or
even jobs in commissioned positions granted by those in power , weakening the horizon with
this fight. Student movements that actually serve in many cases as hustings school for
future politicians and professional high dome. In the spotlight suffrage, capitalizing
parties, as more and more shaded are the movements on which they designed and still protrude.
In short, we have two battles to fight: facing governments and employers and at the same
time, build within movements autonomy from political parties. There is no savior neither
party "less bad": Who's up automatically oppresses those below. And so that actions are
always guided the collective aspirations, we can not allow the actions aparelhista and
vanguard within movements. Only the construction of horizontal and independent
mobilizations can prevent the projection of candied leadership and subordination to the
will of the agendas of a few.
When we remember the popular struggles, it is clear to us reprisals with which always
suffer, whatever the government. Clear: to keep on top of state power in this fake
democracy is necessary alliance with business class that profits from the exploitation of
most daily. And who joins oppressor, the oppressor becomes.
Therefore, we should not depend on professional politicians or political parties: they
usurp our power to submit. We below, the bases of the social pyramid, we must take the
responsibility in the hands and think, from where our feet tread, as we fight together to
end the dictatorship veiled these sectors. It means that we should not stand idly watching
the take up of our rights and use our resources against us. The power is in our collective
organization, not the city or the presidency, illusion created for us to continue dominating.
The election is staging an event in which the class Managing company policy pretends to be
next to the people after the last election, destroy entire communities with the bulldozers
of progress and repress those protests with "batons democratic", as would a fellow fight.
After the consultation on the ballot, which as a result brought the alignment between the
state government and city government, feels the winds of repression on the way, along with
the noise of the construction works. It is the task of the people fighting organized
autonomously and this process gradually leave the sight of all this veiled dictatorship.
Only our resistance can stop the machines, because in practice our politics, politics from
below, it is always 'tratorada' the ballot box.
Anarchist Collective Black Nucleus
October 2012
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