Social movements release plan with 60 measures against covid-19 and economic crisis
Proposed actions seek to “protect life, health, jobs and income”
[NOTE: We have attached the EMERGENCY PLATFORM TO COMBAT THECORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND THE BRAZILIAN CRISIS, translated into English by Friends of the MST.]
In sharp contrast to the disinformation campaign by president Jair Bolsonaro, and the neo liberal measures against workers by finance minister Paulo Guedes, the Brazil Popular Front and the Fearless People Front jointly released on Tuesday (31st), the Emergency Platform to Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic and Crisis in Brazil, which includes more than 60 suggested actions.
The collectives, which include social and student movements, unions, political parties, religious groups and civil society, alert that the Bolsonaro government didn’t enact effective measures against the spread of the coronavirus in Brazil, which later became the biggest threat to the security and well-being of the Brazilian population.
The organizations are also thinking about actions to diminish the consequences of the current economic and health crisis, seeing that the president himself is undermining the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to combat the outbreak.
According to the entities, the objective is to strengthen “the voices of millions of Brazilians who are protesting daily in repudiation of president Jair Bolsonaro”, and to put forth measures to lessen the impact of the economic crisis and novel coronavirus pandemic, which has already infected more than 4.681 people and killed 167 in Brazil.
“We are about defending life, about having confidence in scientific knowledge and the mentality that egoism and individualism are worth nothing when facing this crisis. All solutions must be based on giving up individual interests for those of society as a whole, based on collective action, unity and mass solidarity”, highlights the manifesto that is the framework of the platform.
Guaranteeing Rights
The document reminds us that the current economic and political crisis in the country, predates the epidemic and is a result of the government’s actions, that focus solely on the private sector, and undervalue the State as a guarantor of social and human rights.
“Our economy is run by the financial markets and multinational corporations, who well before the coronavirus, were already imposing harsher living conditions on our people. The virus got to Brazil at a moment of economic stagnation, an unraveling of public services, a rise in poverty, in social inequality. The labor market is highly precarious, with high unemployment and a large portion of jobs in the informal sector, with no safety nets”.
In this manner, the manifesto affirms that the Bolsonaro government staying in power, guided by private and corporate interests, will make overcoming this situation more difficult. They also lay out the responses seen as essential for protecting the people.
Among them, “basic necessities to save our people, the promotion of and strengthening of the public health system; job and income guarantees for workers; social safety nets; the right to food and shelter for all; the right to live with dignity and the reorientation of the economy and public expenditures”.
The proposal of over sixty measure seeks to unite Brazilian society, to revert the current scenario of pandemic and crisis. It also seeks to mobilize the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches to support the undertaking.
