Chico Alves Why can’t you compare Peru’s left with Brazil’s left 08.12.2022 14:28

Since yesterday, when Peruvian President Pedro Castillo tried to shut down Congress and was subsequently impeached and arrested, Bolsonarists have been comparing the Peruvian and Brazilian left on social media as if they were alike. The tagline for this equation is a photo of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva next to Castillo – ignoring the fact that President Jair Bolsonaro is posing smiling next to the deposed president.

The column cites Peruvian historian Yobani Jauregui of the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima and International Relations researcher Pedro Costa Júnior of the USP to clarify why this comparison is insufficient.

Yobani Jauregui, historian at Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima

The left that has come to power in Peru is backing down with an outdated plan to nationalize private companies and things like that. It also has strong ties to subversive and terrorist movements such as Sendero Luminoso, who abandoned the armed struggle to enter the political struggle and founded a party supporting Castillo. There is no modern left in Peru, which has managed to establish a dialogue with the capital.

We have another left, which we call caviar, mainly composed of people with good economic and academic standing who lead anti-Fujimorism (opposition to the ideas of Alberto Fujimori, who presided over Peru from 1990 to 2000 and left them in power). corruption and human rights attacks), the main political current in the country. On the other hand, its leaders talk about sexual diversity, and Pedro Castillo does not want to hear any of it.

It is not possible to compare Lula’s forms of government with the Peruvian left. Here they are frozen in time. Lula has deals with business sectors and progressive sectors, has not given up on social justice and has not given up on investment, both public and private.

Castillo paralyzed projects that were the backbone of the Peruvian economy. He comes from union territory like Lula but he has many limitations, there is no way to compare.

Petista has government experience, Castillo knew nothing. His party has no political staff or articulators. Lima’s left helped to have articulators, but with very unpopular people, which aggravated the problem with Congress.

Castillo did something terribly wrong, he always hit Congress, and it didn’t work out for him. While the left wing urged him to close the Assembly, he began to threaten the Parliament.

No matter how much he competes with the extreme right in Brazil, Lula will not think about closing the Congress and will respect the independence of the powers.

Pedro Costa Junior, professor of International Relations and researcher at USP

There is a concept used by the American theorist Michael Mann, which is political schizophrenia. It characterizes someone who has progressive agendas in the economic realm, but is extremely conservative in the moral realm, is against same-sex marriage and is progressive in terms of values. Pedro Castiillo is schizophrenic in this sense.

It is important to note that there is an elementary school teacher who is not ready for the position. He was so clumsy, he clearly attempted a blow. It’s also true that it’s all-or-nothing because Congress hasn’t let him rule from day one. Keiko Fujimori (the candidate who lost to Castillo in the election) did not recognize the result after Donald Trump in the USA. Faced with this, Congress did not allow Castillo to rule.

The Peruvian left and the Brazilian left have nothing to do with each other. The Brazilian left is not schizophrenic in this sense, but is generally attentive to progressive causes. It also has its roots in labor history, defending workers since the 1970s, fought against dictatorship and was fundamental to re-democratisation. It has a history, a base and a staff, from intellectuals to leaders of the black movement to union leaders. It is solid, strong, heterogeneous and consistent.

Also, the Brazilian left has an expressive leader, not only in Latin America, but throughout the Global South, that is Lula. This difference is central to comparing the Brazilian left to the Peruvian left.

An episode showing Lula’s profile is narrated by biographer Fernando de Morais. This is what the artist said at the PT meeting with Bono Vox in London that “since Mandela’s death, you are the only person in the world who can bring rich and working people together at the same table.”

Lula has a conciliatory, non-confrontational nature. It was formed by bringing the bosses and workers together in the same place, we are talking about agreement, we are talking about mediation. And above all, he always respected the rules of the game. He may criticize, he may question, but he has always been respectful.