The Brazilian general elections begin on 7 October. Far-right presidential candidate, Jair Messias Bolsonaro of the PSL, is leading in the polls, which has provoked a huge reaction from the left in Brazil, with some (including the PT) calling him a fascist, or fearing he will attempt to restore the military dictatorship. Lucy Dias of Marxist Left explains what Bolsonaro stands for, and how to fight him.

The bourgeois press is doing everything possible to bury the anti-Bolsonaro protests on September 29 and the readiness to fight they displayed. It makes comparisons with the pro-Bolsonaro mobilisations of the next day – which were dozens of times smaller – and omits facts like the spontaneous manifestations on public transport before and after the demonstrations.

The tremendous protests on 29 September all across Brazil were yet another demonstration of the building fightback against the far-right presidential candidate, Bolsonaro. These manifestations were initially called and organised by the Facebook group "United Women Against Bolsonaro", but word spread through the internet and the turn-out was greatly expanded.

Statement by the Marxist Left (Esquerda Marxista), Brazilian section of the IMT

The year has barely started and we’ve already seen large popular demonstrations all over Iran. Demonstrations, that had started with economic demands, developed into a revolt against the reactionary Islamic regime. In Tunisia, the youth have taken to the streets demanding employment and an end to IMF-imposed austerity policies. These two cases bring to mind, once again, the political instability that is spreading throughout the world and revolutionary explosions that may be detonated by little sparks.

A série de atos com a presença de Alan Woods na América Latina chegou ao seu fim com um ato vitorioso no Rio de Janeiro. Na noite de segunda-feira (9/10), durante uma semana de feriadão, reuniram-se mais de 100 pessoas no Salão Nobre do Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Sociais da UFRJ, no Centro do Rio de Janeiro, para comemorar o centenário da Revolução Russa e estudar e debater sua atualidade com o lançamento do livro “Stálin”, de Leon Trotsky.

In the second leg of his Latin American tour, Alan Woods of the International Marxist Tendency enjoyed a rapturous reception across Brazil as he launched the newly updated edition of Trotsky's final masterpiece: his unfinished biography of Stalin.

We are witnessing yet another chapter in the Car Wash (Lava Jato) operation: the sentencing of Lula by the judge Sergio Moro. As the Esquedra Marxista [Marxist Left] has already explained in previous articles, the Lava Jato is a manoeuvre driven by the interests of the ruling class.

The Temer government is trying to hang on to power, by playing up growth in the economy and by accelerating its legislation attacking the working class. Yesterday Termer’s supporters in the Senate succeeded in approving the Committee of Economic Affairs’ (CAE) report on Labour Reform. The intention is to demonstrate that this government, despite lacking any social base, might still be of some use to its capitalist masters.

Michel Temer's government, which was sworn in after Dilma Roussef's impeachment trial last year, is a government without a social base of support (with only 4 percent support) and has faced massive popular demonstrations against it over the last period.

O governo de Michel Temer, empossado após o processo de impeachment de Dilma Roussef (PT) no ano passado, é um governo que não tem base social (está com 4% de apoio) e tem enfrentado massivas manifestações populares no último período.

The government of Brazil, headed by Michel Temer of the right-wing PMDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party), is deeply unpopular. Meanwhile the PT (Workers’ Party), which has traditionally been the main Left party in Brazil, is mired in corruption scandals.

On Friday, Brazilian workers and unions led the first general strike in Brazil for over two decades, protesting austerity measures, and in particular harsh cuts in pensions, which are being implemented by the corrupt Temer government.

De nouvelles révélations montrent que la corruption coule dans les veines de la politique brésilienne. Une enquête portant le nom « Opération Lava Jato» - un réseau de blanchiment d'argent et de corruption lié à l'entreprise publique Petrobras et à un certain nombre de politiques - est en cours depuis 2014. Pas plus tard que la semaine dernière, cette enquête a mené à une nouvelle vague d'accusations contre d’autres membres du Congrès. Tous les partis politiques sont impliqués dans le scandale. La gangrène de l’Etat brésilien est claire pour tout le monde.

Ha habido nuevas revelaciones sobre la corrupción que corre por las venas de la política brasileña. Una investigación sobre lo que se conoce como 'Operación Lava Coches' (Lava Jato) –una red de lavado de dinero y soborno con enlaces con la petrolera estatal Petrobrás y una serie de políticos– ha estado en curso desde 2014. En fecha tan reciente como la semana pasada, esta investigación ha producido una nueva ola de acusaciones contra más miembros todavía del Congreso de todos los partidos políticos. La suciedad avariciosa que salpica al Estado brasileño es clara para que todo el que la vea.