Brazil: Construction Workers’ Union of Belo Horizonte and the Region carries out its XIII Congress

We hereby share an unofficial translation of a report published by A Nova Democracia.

The Construction Workers’ Union of Belo Horizonte and the Region, lead by Chapa Marreta, on October 6 ended its XIII Congress, which lasted two days at the headquarter of the union. Delegates, workers, relatives, special invited persons and representatives from dozens of progressive, democratic and revolutionary organizations and entities attended the Congress.

The XIII Congress announced in the website of the Workers’ League in a note titled, XIII Congress carried out, amid days of struggles and boycott to the electoral farce! The document can be read here.

The note describes that the room where the Congress took place was decorated with pictures of proletarian struggles as well as with a banner with the slogan “Resist the reactionary offensive and the class-collaboration by opportunism, raising the class organization”.

The inaugural event started singing The Internationale and with a speech which payed tribute to the Palestinian people, the liberation struggles in Peru, India, Turkey and Philippines lead by Maoist Communist Parties, and to the combative women and youth.

The note issued by the Workers’ League also points out that “the thesis of the XIII Congress of Marreta were voted about, and the Historical Balance of the Entity was approved, which goes from the retaking of the Union by Chapa Marreta at November 30, 1988, until today (see notes of the XIII Congress thesis)”.

Regarding deliberations, the following aspects were approved: “1) To organize the members at the work and residence places; 2) To support the people’s struggles, especially the struggle for land, to build and reinforce the workers-peasant alliance; 3) To build the Women’s Department in the Union, to organize the female members; 4) To intensify the agitations and meetings at the construction places and to prepare the members to resist the attacks, and, if it is necessary, for the Strike; 5) Try to make courses and formations learning from the CIPA [translators note: Internal Commission the Prevent Accidents], which today are not operative, to combat the bad work conditions in the sector; 6) Comeback of the People’s School, to prepare the workers to face the labor market, but also to increase the autonomy of the worker, with courses of alphabetization and political formation; 7) To do not use the Union to support the political candidates in the Electoral Farce as well as to do not act with electoral purposes; 8) To create ways of self-sustainment and to increase the numbers of members and to systematically receive payment for the negotiation quota, as a way to strength the entity; 9) To deeply raise the struggle of criticism and self-criticism, being self-criticism principal, since just recognizing our own errors and repairing them we will can make leaps in our class organization; 10) To create a ‘cultural Saturday’, so that the workers can develop cultural activities, such as Capoeira, Theater, Hip-Hop, Sports and Leisure time, among others; 11) Proposal to analyze the functioning schedule of the Union, to assess better the affiliates.”

The note ends focusing on the presentation of the national political situation, a critique and self-critique balance of the actions by the leadership and reaffirming the following aspects: “1) The masses makes history. 2) The struggle for revindication is important but the principal is power. 3) To combat opportunism as the main danger. 4) It is right to rebel. 5) To relay on our own forces. To reaffirm its class position, in defense of Proletarian Internationalism, having as an example the support to the struggling peoples all over the world, mainly in Peru, India, Turkey and Philippines and the defense of the struggle of the international proletariat, pointing as an example the Palestinian people and the creation of the Anti-Imperialist League as a guiding light of the class struggle, as well as to enlarge the support to the peasant struggle, to solidify even more the peasant-workers’ alliance and specially the struggle for the General Strike of National Resistance”.