Brazilian Communist Party
Encyclopedia
Brazilian Communist Party (in Portuguese
, Partido Comunista Brasileiro) is the oldest political party still active in Brazil
, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties (along with PCR
) with a Stalinist
orientation. It played an important role in the country's 20th century history.
It was one of the biggest parties in the country, maintaining, with PCdoB
(Communist Party of Brazil), an unified resistance against the dictatorship, but with the fall of the USSR and the collapse of the communism
, the party lost power, and an internal coup in 1992 divided the party and formed a new party, called Socialist People's Party
, using the former identification number of the PCB, 23.
The youth wing of PCB is known as Young Communist Union.
, Partido Comunista Brasileiro), abbreviated as the PCB, was founded on March 25, 1922 in the city
of Niterói
, Rio de Janeiro
. On that day, nine representatives of communist
groups from the cities of São Paulo, Santos
, Cruzeiro
, Porto Alegre
, Recife
, Niterói
, Juiz de Fora
and Rio de Janeiro
met and approved the party's statutes and the twenty-one conditions for entering the Communist International, though the PCB was not recognized by the Comintern in its first years due to its eclectic ideological roots. The meeting ended with all seventy-three members of the party singing L'Internationale
(quietly, to avoid being overheard).
. There had been moderate socialist parties, newspapers and congresses, but much unlike the strong social-democratic parties that existed in many European countries. The radical anti-capitalist
thinking had been dominated by anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists
, who also dominated the labour movement
, such as in the case of the 1917 anarchist actions
in São Paulo. Inspired by the Russian Revolution
, a group of former anarchist militants who were disappointed in the lack of unity and force of the movement, turned communist and started the PCB. At the same time, some other figures from Brazil's early labour- and socialist movements became inspired by forms of military and authoritarian populism
, like the tenentes, that eventually led to the Vargas
-revolution of 1930.
During the first years, the party was declared illegal by the government
. On May 1, 1925, during the party's Second Congress
, its weekly newspaper
A Classe Operária (The Working Class) was announced, with five thousand copies being sold on the factories. This number grew to nine hundred copies by the ninth edition, but the police
shut the newspaper down shortly after the twelfth edition was published. The paper reappeared in 1928, after the Third Congress was held.
By 1930, after being recognized by the Communist International and with its Socialist Youth
division formed, the PCB had nearly eleven hundred members. This marks the beginning of a long period of submission to, initially the Third International, and, after its dissolution, to the political leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. This decade
also marked two cycles on the party's history: one of increasing influence, until 1935, and one of decline, until 1942. Both cycles are comprehensible when seen in the context of the Vargas
era
.
, the party secretly met in the small city
of Engenheiro Passos, Rio de Janeiro, and in an open letter to Vargas decided to support a declaration of war
on the Axis
. At the same time, Luís Carlos Prestes
was elected to the party's presidency
. On 1945, after Vargas's dictatorship
ended, the PCB became legal once again. By 1947, it had nearly two hundred thousand members. In the 1947 legislative election, it received 480 thousand votes or about 9% of total votes cast. However, this period of official tolerance did not last long, as President Dutra
denounced the PCB as "internationalist, and therefore not committed to Brazil's own interests" in 1948, an action supported by the American
government.
In the 1950s, as the party was driven underground, it began supporting major workers' strikes
around Brazil. However, this did not prevent the beginning of internal clashes between different factions within the PCB. This became more evident after the Soviet Communist Party
's 20th Congress, when Nikita Khrushchev
denounced Joseph Stalin
's policies. The factionalization of the party accelerated after a new Manifesto was passed in 1958, proposing new ways of achieving communist goals. This Manifesto linked the establishment of socialism
to the broadening of democracy. Some of its top leaders, dissatisfied with the new Soviet line, quit the PCB and formed a new party, Communist Party of Brazil
(Partido Comunista do Brasil - PCdoB) in 1962.
In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the number of organized communists in Brazil to around 31 000.
. PCB did play an important role against the dictatorship, by organizing the workers movement and participating in efforts to unite the opposition in its demands for democratic reforms. At that point in time the communists were a fraction of the democratic opposition front, the Brazilian Democratic Movement
(MDB). It refused, for example, to engage in armed struggle, differently from other left wing organizations that decided to follow that path. The clandestine operations and the political disputes regarding the strategies to resist the military regime led to many important leaders leaving the party, while many others died in the hands of the military regime. To the end of the dictatorship, while the Communist Party in Brazil was involved in several internal clashes, the Worker's Party
(Partido dos Trabalhadores) was founded. Its creation was the project of a series of left wing groups independent from the PCB (Trotskyists, communist dissidents, ex-guerrillas
, sectors of the Catholic Left, independent unionists and intellectuals). It was structured as an alternative to Communist-led unionism in Brazil. Forswearing the Popular Front strategy adpted by the PCB, the PT chose instead to take a more radical stance against the military regime and gained a strong presence in between high skilled workers and middle-class intellectuals. The growth of the PT accelerated the fragmentation process inside the PCB leading ultimately to a big split.
". Once again, internal clashes developed in the party, as it was passing through a process of renewal while its influency in the society declined. The fall of the Soviet bloc was also a strong blow to the party, turning the renewal process into a process of dissolution and abandonment, by some of its main leaders, of Marxism
. This crisis reached its high point in January 1992.
A group led by the then President Roberto Freire
called a Congress, the 10th in the party's history, as it came against a Congressional resolution of one year ago, that would not call a congress for this year and that determined that the party would be kept. Nevertheless Freire managed to organize this congress, in which people that were not members of the party were allowed to vote, thus approving the end of the party and the formation of the Socialist People's Party
(Partido Popular Socialista - PPS), in a very similar way to what happened in Italy.
However a small group, led by Ivan Pinheiro (the current secretary general), questioning the legality of the 10th Congress, decided to keep the party and the ideology of Marxist-Leninist
.
The Party has realized four congresses since then: the 10th (1993), 11th (1996), 12th (2000) and the 13th (2006). It remains small, in spite of some recent growth during the government of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva and the crisis of PT
(it should be noticed that the main result of this process was the Socialism and Freedom Party
). Although competing in elections and participating in wider electoral fronts, its electoral results were insignificant.
In 2006, the PCB agreed on a nationwide alliance with two other left-wing parties, P-SOL and PSTU. Putting aside some significant ideological differences, the three parties built a common agenda to try to break the polarity between presidential candidates Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT
) and Geraldo Alckmin
(PSDB
). The coalition also extended to gubernatorial and parliament elections to take place at the same time all over the country.
The PCB elected a state deputy (Jorge Souza, in the state of Amapá
) and has about 20 local representatives.
The party's union branch currently builds the central Intersindical and is growing greatly in the union movement. The student movement is responsibility of the Young Communist Union, which is also growing in size.
The last party's Congress, the 13th, in 2005, voted to abolish the post of "president" and use only the traditional position of "secretary-general".
II Congress - May 1925
III Congress - December 1928/January 1929
IV Congress - November 1954
V Congress - August/September 1960
VI Congress - December 1967
VII Congress - São Paulo-SP, December 1982 - the Congress was invaded by the police and only concluded, without a new meeting of the delegates, in 1984
VIII Congress (Extraordinary) - Brasília-DF, June 1987
IX Congress - Rio de Janeiro-RJ, May/June 1991
X Congress - Rio de Janeiro-RJ, 1993
XI Congress - Rio de Janeiro-RJ, 1996
XII Congress - April 2000
XIII Congress - Belo Horizonte-MG, March 2005
Astrojildo Pereira - 1924-1930
Heitor Ferreira Lima - 1931
Fernando de Lacerda - 1931-1932
José Vilar - 1932
Duvitiliano Ramos - 1932
Domingos Brás - 1932
Luís Carlos Prestes
- 1943-1980
Giocondo Dias - 1980-1985
Ivan Pinheiro
- 2005-today
Salomão Malina - 1987-1991
Roberto Freire
- 1991-1992
Oscar Niemeyer
1992-1996
Zuleide Faria de Mello 1996-2008
Novos Rumos - theoretical magazine, open to the contribution of personalities and currents outside of the party
Imprensa Popular - current newspaper
List of Communist Parties
Politics of Brazil
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Partido Comunista Brasileiro) is the oldest political party still active in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties (along with PCR
Revolutionary Communist Party (Brazil)
The Revolutionary Communist Party is a Hoxhaist communist political party in Brazil. It formed after a split with the October 8th Revolutionary Movement in 1995. It is a member of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations ....
) with a Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
orientation. It played an important role in the country's 20th century history.
It was one of the biggest parties in the country, maintaining, with PCdoB
Communist Party of Brazil
The Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and students movements. PCdoB dispute with the Brazilian Communist Party the title of "oldest political party in Brazil"...
(Communist Party of Brazil), an unified resistance against the dictatorship, but with the fall of the USSR and the collapse of the communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, the party lost power, and an internal coup in 1992 divided the party and formed a new party, called Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Brazil)
The Socialist People's Party is a political party in Brazil.It was founded in 1992, after the Brazilian Communist Party decided to rename itself the Socialist People's Party as part of a political realignment following the collapse of the Soviet Union.The PPS was a part of the coalition government...
, using the former identification number of the PCB, 23.
The youth wing of PCB is known as Young Communist Union.
Foundation
The Brazilian Communist Party (in PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Partido Comunista Brasileiro), abbreviated as the PCB, was founded on March 25, 1922 in the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Niterói
Niterói
Niterói is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast region of Brazil. It has an estimated population of 487,327 inhabitants and an area of ², being the sixth most populous city in the state and the highest Human Development Index. Integrates the Metropolitan Region of Rio de...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
. On that day, nine representatives of communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
groups from the cities of São Paulo, Santos
Santos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
, Cruzeiro
Cruzeiro, São Paulo
Cruzeiro is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is located about from the state capital...
, Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, Niterói
Niterói
Niterói is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast region of Brazil. It has an estimated population of 487,327 inhabitants and an area of ², being the sixth most populous city in the state and the highest Human Development Index. Integrates the Metropolitan Region of Rio de...
, Juiz de Fora
Juiz de Fora
-Industry, Trade, and Culture:Juiz de Fora is the second most important industrial center in the state of Minas Gerais, despite being the fourth largest in terms of population. It was once the state's largest city, position which was held up until the beginning of the 20th century...
and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
met and approved the party's statutes and the twenty-one conditions for entering the Communist International, though the PCB was not recognized by the Comintern in its first years due to its eclectic ideological roots. The meeting ended with all seventy-three members of the party singing L'Internationale
The Internationale
The Internationale is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem.The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism, and gained particular fame under the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1944, when it was that communist state's de facto central anthem...
(quietly, to avoid being overheard).
Early years
The PCB's first years were marked by an effort to encourage socialist thinking in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. There had been moderate socialist parties, newspapers and congresses, but much unlike the strong social-democratic parties that existed in many European countries. The radical anti-capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
thinking had been dominated by anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists
Anarchism in Brazil
Anarchism was an influential contributor to the social politics of Brazils Old Republic. During the epoch of mass migrations of European labourers at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, anarchist ideas started to spread, particularly amongst the country’s labour...
, who also dominated the labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
, such as in the case of the 1917 anarchist actions
Anarchism in Brazil
Anarchism was an influential contributor to the social politics of Brazils Old Republic. During the epoch of mass migrations of European labourers at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, anarchist ideas started to spread, particularly amongst the country’s labour...
in São Paulo. Inspired by the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, a group of former anarchist militants who were disappointed in the lack of unity and force of the movement, turned communist and started the PCB. At the same time, some other figures from Brazil's early labour- and socialist movements became inspired by forms of military and authoritarian populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, like the tenentes, that eventually led to the Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
-revolution of 1930.
During the first years, the party was declared illegal by the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. On May 1, 1925, during the party's Second Congress
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations , or groups....
, its weekly newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
A Classe Operária (The Working Class) was announced, with five thousand copies being sold on the factories. This number grew to nine hundred copies by the ninth edition, but the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
shut the newspaper down shortly after the twelfth edition was published. The paper reappeared in 1928, after the Third Congress was held.
By 1930, after being recognized by the Communist International and with its Socialist Youth
Socialist Youth
The names Socialist Youth or Socialist Youth League have been used by several political youth organizations around the world:*India - Democratic Youth Federation of India and Students' Federation of India...
division formed, the PCB had nearly eleven hundred members. This marks the beginning of a long period of submission to, initially the Third International, and, after its dissolution, to the political leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. This decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
also marked two cycles on the party's history: one of increasing influence, until 1935, and one of decline, until 1942. Both cycles are comprehensible when seen in the context of the Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
era
Era
An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
.
Reorganization and growth
On 1943, during the so-called Mantiqueira ConferenceMeeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
, the party secretly met in the small city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Engenheiro Passos, Rio de Janeiro, and in an open letter to Vargas decided to support a declaration of war
Declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
on the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
. At the same time, Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes was a leader of the 1920s tenente rebellion and the Communist opposition to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil....
was elected to the party's presidency
Presidency
The word presidency is often used to describe the administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation...
. On 1945, after Vargas's dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
ended, the PCB became legal once again. By 1947, it had nearly two hundred thousand members. In the 1947 legislative election, it received 480 thousand votes or about 9% of total votes cast. However, this period of official tolerance did not last long, as President Dutra
Eurico Gaspar Dutra
Eurico Gaspar Dutra , was a Brazilian marshal, politician and president of Brazil from 1946–1951.He was born in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, and like many other Brazilians, was from Azorean-Portuguese origin...
denounced the PCB as "internationalist, and therefore not committed to Brazil's own interests" in 1948, an action supported by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government.
In the 1950s, as the party was driven underground, it began supporting major workers' strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
around Brazil. However, this did not prevent the beginning of internal clashes between different factions within the PCB. This became more evident after the Soviet Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
's 20th Congress, when Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
denounced Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's policies. The factionalization of the party accelerated after a new Manifesto was passed in 1958, proposing new ways of achieving communist goals. This Manifesto linked the establishment of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
to the broadening of democracy. Some of its top leaders, dissatisfied with the new Soviet line, quit the PCB and formed a new party, Communist Party of Brazil
Communist Party of Brazil
The Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and students movements. PCdoB dispute with the Brazilian Communist Party the title of "oldest political party in Brazil"...
(Partido Comunista do Brasil - PCdoB) in 1962.
In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the number of organized communists in Brazil to around 31 000.
Military rule years
With this new orientation, the PCB grew in size and exercised a much greater role in the Brazilian left. However, the alliance forged with the other parties did not survive the 1964 coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. PCB did play an important role against the dictatorship, by organizing the workers movement and participating in efforts to unite the opposition in its demands for democratic reforms. At that point in time the communists were a fraction of the democratic opposition front, the Brazilian Democratic Movement
Brazilian Democratic Movement
The Brazilian Democratic Movement was a political party in Brazil that existed from 1965 to 1979. It was formed in 1965, when the military government that overthrew President João Goulart abolished all existing political parties...
(MDB). It refused, for example, to engage in armed struggle, differently from other left wing organizations that decided to follow that path. The clandestine operations and the political disputes regarding the strategies to resist the military regime led to many important leaders leaving the party, while many others died in the hands of the military regime. To the end of the dictatorship, while the Communist Party in Brazil was involved in several internal clashes, the Worker's Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
(Partido dos Trabalhadores) was founded. Its creation was the project of a series of left wing groups independent from the PCB (Trotskyists, communist dissidents, ex-guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, sectors of the Catholic Left, independent unionists and intellectuals). It was structured as an alternative to Communist-led unionism in Brazil. Forswearing the Popular Front strategy adpted by the PCB, the PT chose instead to take a more radical stance against the military regime and gained a strong presence in between high skilled workers and middle-class intellectuals. The growth of the PT accelerated the fragmentation process inside the PCB leading ultimately to a big split.
Crisis and split of the PPS
After the 1979 amnesty, the PCB's leaders began to restructure the party. The 1982 Congress confirmed the democratic agenda, declaring the PCB "a party of the masses, linking socialist goals to true democracy, which will be constructed based on the values of freedomFreedom (political)
Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...
". Once again, internal clashes developed in the party, as it was passing through a process of renewal while its influency in the society declined. The fall of the Soviet bloc was also a strong blow to the party, turning the renewal process into a process of dissolution and abandonment, by some of its main leaders, of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. This crisis reached its high point in January 1992.
A group led by the then President Roberto Freire
Roberto Freire
Roberto João Pereira Freire is a Brazilian politician. He is president of the Socialist People's Party and federal deputy from Pernambuco.-References:...
called a Congress, the 10th in the party's history, as it came against a Congressional resolution of one year ago, that would not call a congress for this year and that determined that the party would be kept. Nevertheless Freire managed to organize this congress, in which people that were not members of the party were allowed to vote, thus approving the end of the party and the formation of the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Brazil)
The Socialist People's Party is a political party in Brazil.It was founded in 1992, after the Brazilian Communist Party decided to rename itself the Socialist People's Party as part of a political realignment following the collapse of the Soviet Union.The PPS was a part of the coalition government...
(Partido Popular Socialista - PPS), in a very similar way to what happened in Italy.
However a small group, led by Ivan Pinheiro (the current secretary general), questioning the legality of the 10th Congress, decided to keep the party and the ideology of Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
.
Refoundation and reorganization
After the dissolution of the PCB, decided by the 10th Congress, the Central Committee minority that was opposed to this action organized an "Extraordinary Reorganization Conference", where it decided to rebuild the party with the maintaining of its identity and by reviewing the path that it had followed in the precedent years. The party then started a battle in order to gain the rights to use the name Brazilian Communist Party and the acronyim PCB (which was contested by the members of the PPS) and the legalize the party. In 1996, the PCB would be officially registered.The Party has realized four congresses since then: the 10th (1993), 11th (1996), 12th (2000) and the 13th (2006). It remains small, in spite of some recent growth during the government of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva and the crisis of PT
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
(it should be noticed that the main result of this process was the Socialism and Freedom Party
Socialism and Freedom Party
The Socialism and Freedom Party is a Brazilian political party . Among the party leaders are Heloísa Helena , federal deputies Luciana Genro and Babá , and a number of well-known Brazilian left-wing leaders and intellectuals, such as Milton Temer, Carlos Nelson Coutinho, Ricardo Antunes,...
). Although competing in elections and participating in wider electoral fronts, its electoral results were insignificant.
In 2006, the PCB agreed on a nationwide alliance with two other left-wing parties, P-SOL and PSTU. Putting aside some significant ideological differences, the three parties built a common agenda to try to break the polarity between presidential candidates Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
) and Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
(PSDB
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party is a centrist political party in Brazil. Originally a centre-left party at the time of its foundation, PSDB moved to the centre after Fernando Henrique Cardoso forged an alliance with the right-wing Liberal...
). The coalition also extended to gubernatorial and parliament elections to take place at the same time all over the country.
The PCB elected a state deputy (Jorge Souza, in the state of Amapá
Amapá
Amapá is one of the states of Brazil, located in the extreme north, bordering French Guiana and Suriname to the north. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south and west is the Brazilian state of Pará. Perhaps one of the main features of the state is the River Oiapoque, as it was once...
) and has about 20 local representatives.
The party's union branch currently builds the central Intersindical and is growing greatly in the union movement. The student movement is responsibility of the Young Communist Union, which is also growing in size.
The last party's Congress, the 13th, in 2005, voted to abolish the post of "president" and use only the traditional position of "secretary-general".
Presidential elections
| Year | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Iedo Fiúza | 600,348 | 10.19% |
| 1989 | Roberto Freire | 769.123 | 1.06% |
Parliamentary elections
| Year | Elections | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Chamber of Deputies | 511.302 | 8.45% | 14 |
| Federal Senate | 1.095.843 | 9.73% | 1 | |
| 1947 | Chamber of Deputies | 479.024 | 9.2% | 2 * |
| Federal Senate | 151.182 | 2.5% | 0 | |
| 1986 | Chamber of Deputies | 380,592 | 0.8% | 3 |
| Federal Senate ** | - | - | - | |
| 1990 | Chamber of Deputies | 3 | ||
| Federal Senate | ||||
Congresses
I Congress - Niterói-RJ, March 1922II Congress - May 1925
III Congress - December 1928/January 1929
IV Congress - November 1954
V Congress - August/September 1960
VI Congress - December 1967
VII Congress - São Paulo-SP, December 1982 - the Congress was invaded by the police and only concluded, without a new meeting of the delegates, in 1984
VIII Congress (Extraordinary) - Brasília-DF, June 1987
IX Congress - Rio de Janeiro-RJ, May/June 1991
X Congress - Rio de Janeiro-RJ, 1993
XI Congress - Rio de Janeiro-RJ, 1996
XII Congress - April 2000
XIII Congress - Belo Horizonte-MG, March 2005
Secretaries General
Abílio de Nequete - 1922Astrojildo Pereira - 1924-1930
Heitor Ferreira Lima - 1931
Fernando de Lacerda - 1931-1932
José Vilar - 1932
Duvitiliano Ramos - 1932
Domingos Brás - 1932
Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes was a leader of the 1920s tenente rebellion and the Communist opposition to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil....
- 1943-1980
Giocondo Dias - 1980-1985
Ivan Pinheiro
Ivan Pinheiro
Ivan Martins Pinheiro is a politician in Brazil, secretary-general of the Brazilian Communist Party since 2005 and a candidate in the Brazilian presidential elections in 2010...
- 2005-today
Presidents
Giocondo Dias - 1985-1987Salomão Malina - 1987-1991
Roberto Freire
Roberto Freire
Roberto João Pereira Freire is a Brazilian politician. He is president of the Socialist People's Party and federal deputy from Pernambuco.-References:...
- 1991-1992
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
1992-1996
Zuleide Faria de Mello 1996-2008
Newspapers and magazines
Voz da Unidade - the main organ of the party in the 80's, weeklyNovos Rumos - theoretical magazine, open to the contribution of personalities and currents outside of the party
Imprensa Popular - current newspaper
See also
List of political parties in BrazilList of Communist Parties
Politics of Brazil
Politics of Brazil
The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
External links
- Instituto Astrojildo Pereira (in Portuguese)