The Bolsonaro regime’s handling of the pandemic in Brazil has been catastrophic. 400,000 people have died (officially), the healthcare system is collapsing and now hunger is rampant. The wretched capitalist system in Brazil has created a humanitarian nightmare and an ideal breeding ground for new, more dangerous variants. Even the ruling class is beginning to distance themselves from Bolsonaro as the mood in society turns to bitter anger against the regime.

The pandemic is out of control in Brazil. According to official data, at the time of writing (21 March) there have already been more than 294,000 people killed by COVID-19. Approximately 2,000 new deaths are registered on average every day. When underreporting is taken into account, these figures are likely to be significantly higher.

Brazil is beating records for the number of daily deaths due to COVID-19, and at the time of writing, the country has exceeded 260,000 casualties. Added to this is the collapse of the country’s health system, with the occupation of beds exceeding 80 percent of capacity in 16 states and the Federal District, with nine states exceeding 90 percent capacity. Read the original in Portuguese, originally published 4 March.

A strike by refuse workers in Brazil against job losses and state repression has ended after 15 days with an important, partial victory. We publish below a report by our Brazilian comrades of Esquerda Marxista from yesterday (available here in Portuguese), giving a balance sheet of the strike. Additionally, we publish an earlier report (Portuguese here) giving some further background on these events.

Ford announced last Monday the end of production of vehicles in Brazil. The decision led to immediate cessation of activities at the Camaçari (Bahia) and Taubaté (São Paulo) facilities, maintaining only the production of parts for stock, while the production of Troller jeeps will be maintained only until the last quarter of 2021 in Horizonte (Ceará). There are thousands of workers who will be newly unemployed in Brazil and Argentina, in addition to the thousands indirectly affected by the layoffs.

The upcoming municipal elections in Brazil are being seen as a litmus test of Bolsonaro's electoral support following two years of chaos, demagogy, attacks on the working class, and now the disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is clearly a desire for radical change in Brazil, despite the shameful policies of class collaboration by leaders of the left.

A wealthy businessman who raped a young woman in Brazil has been let off scot-free by a sexist bourgeois court, further exposing the rottenness of the capitalist state.

Below are some of the messages of solidarity our Brazilian comrades of Esquerda Marxista have received in the face of the attacks suffered by one of their leading activists, Johannes Halter. Earlier this month, a hacker threatened to disclose personal data about Halter and his family if he did not take down the Esquerda Marxista Instagram page, which he manages. For more details, read this article, originally published in ...

The Brazilian section of the International Marxist Tendency has faced an online attack from an anonymous individual in an attempt to silence our revolutionary ideas. The IMT would like to send our full support and solidarity to the Brazilian comrades of Esquerda Marxista and comrade Johannes Halter, who has endured personal threats as well as threats towards his family. We ask all our readers to support the campaign by sending messages of solidarity to contato@marxismo.org.br.

Esquerda Marxista, the Brazilian section of the International Marxist Tendency, honored and paid tribute to comrade Roque Ferreira at his funeral on 5 September in Bauru. Because of the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the burial at Jardim Ypê cemetery was restricted to 15 family members. Roque passed away on 4 September after complications during his hospitalisation after testing positive for COVID-19. However, like everything in Roque’s life, his funeral was filled with not just displays of affection, but also a deep revolutionary spirit.

Alan Woods, editor of marxist.com, offers tribute to comrade Roque Ferreira, a leading member of our Brazilian section who tragically died yesterday from COVID-19.

It is with great sadness that we have to report that Comrade Roque Ferreira, member of the Central Committee of Esquerda Marxista (Marxist Left) and of the National Coordination of the Black Socialist Movement, died yesterday afternoon (4 September), a victim of COVID-19.

Note: this article was originally published in Portuguese on 4 June, concerning a list of anti-Bolsonaro activists whose personal details were released, putting them at personal risk of attack by far-right and fascist elements, in a clearly illegal act of intimidation.

This article was originally published by our Brazilian comrades on 29 May. The situation has developed subsequently, and we will release updates in due course.

The following article was written by a doctor, who works in the city of São Paulo. COVID-19 precipitated and exacerbated the conditions of an ongoing social and economic crisis in Brazil, and internationally. The bourgeoisie is confused and divided in the face of a problem that it cannot bear, but it also cannot solve.