The PT “always seeks” hegemony on the left, criticizes Heloísa Helena

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You are now coming to the House to replace MP Glauber Braga. Do you see any difference in the way the Speaker of the House treated him and the treatment of opposition parliamentarians on other occasions?

All institutional responses based on the morality of convenience, which condemn the adversary and conceal their own, are contemptible. Unfortunately, it is a modality used in politics, but it must be fought mercilessly. I already experienced this 20 years ago, when I was a senator and I was expelled from the INSS building, under tear gas and kicks, on the authoritarian order of the Lula government. This is why it is still unacceptable, from MP Hugo Motta or any other person who provisionally heads an institution.

And how do you see the reaction of the population and of a part of the left which describes the Congress as an “enemy of the people”?

Any social movement that condemns political setbacks, authoritarianism and persecution in the streets will always be very important for improving Brazil’s fragile democracy.

We are on the eve of an electoral year and we have witnessed, in recent weeks, the movement of part of the right for the candidacy of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. How do you see this articulation? Do you see this as a threat?

Their decision is predictable, because in the world of political idolatry and neo-oligarchy they still save the old way, sometimes well-known surnames, sometimes electoral arrangements, and the government program is limited to graphic printing. They are strong, it would be ridiculous not to recognize them, but I honestly consider it very difficult for them to win a presidential campaign.

On the left, President Lula has indicated that he will seek re-election. Will you and the Network support each other?

Look, we have so much work ahead of us, including developing a program that portends profound structural changes for Brazil. I was expelled from the PT in 2003, for ideological consistency, and everyone knows it. My beliefs have not changed, I remain on the same side, I continue to spit on class betrayal. The country has experienced enormous trauma in recent years. We were governed by a cowardly soldier who abandoned the country at the most dramatic moment, leaving behind wounded and more than 700,000 dead in the pandemic. Before leaving power, the guy tried to stage a coup, probably to install a dictatorship. This will be the scenario that will have to be taken into account during the debate on 2026. Now, do not count on me to reconcile with big capital, support the fiscal framework, privatize strategic sectors, drain public resources from social policies to fill the bellies of insatiable financial capital. They won’t even count on my patience.

In the case of other PT dissidents, reconciliations took place with President Lula. In your case, you have maintained your critical position. What made you keep it in recent years?

I cannot say in what context these connections took place. I have an obligation to respect decisions, I have no right to dispute anything or promote a judgment on what I do not know. In my case, I don’t view these issues as personal or sentimental; are ideological. The mandate that I temporarily hold requires of me what I consider to be honor, consistency, courage and social commitment.

During your inauguration speech in the House, you criticized, in addition to the privatization of natural resources, the extraction of rare earths, planned by the government. Do you consider the approval given to these measures to be errors in the environmental policy of the current administration?

I consider it a crime against the country to reproduce, with rare earths and strategic minerals, such as niobium, the failed history of mineral exports without processing and at an ignoble price. More than economic ignorance or innocence incompatible with the management of public affairs, the absence of initiatives to reverse this situation perpetuates a state of economic enslavement, capitulation and affront to national sovereignty.

For next year, the PT has formalized a federation proposal with the PSOL, which, to join President Lula’s party, would have to leave the alliance signed with Rede. As the founder of the PSOL, how do you assess this movement and the rapprochement between the two parties?

Each party has the legitimacy to evaluate with whom it should federate. Therefore, even if he is one of the founders of the PSOL, this subject must be debated in his party’s bodies without interference from other parties. My assessment is that the PT still seeks to be a hegemonic force within the Brazilian left, so this federation would make more sense just for them. However, I believe that the good rebels of the PSOL do not see this possibility as an acceptable alternative. On the other hand, I consider that the PSOL/Rede federation is very important for both parties and, as we have already faced together the most complex municipal elections in a country of continental dimensions, it will be easier to move forward. Today, our parties debate it in the national directories.

After the results of the conflict for leadership of the Network this year, Minister Marina received proposals to allow the party to join the PT or the PSB. Do you think she should leave?