Brazil: 400 Attendees Condemn the Genocide in Gaza during the Political Event in Rio de Janeiro
Successful event against the genocide in Gaza and the Zionist intervention in Brazilian territory in Rio de Janeiro. More than 400 people, including farmers, workers, activists, teachers, and organizations, among them the committee for the foundation of the Anti-Imperialist League, gathered at the University of Rio de Janeiro on May 27 under the slogan “No step back: Stop the extermination in Gaza and the Zionist intervention in Brazil!”
Victor Bellizia, the general director and editor-in-chief of AND, began the event by comparing the horrors of Zionism to the crimes of Nazism and condemned those who attempt to criminalize the defense of Palestine in Brazil. This idea was repeated by several speakers, who discussed the figures of the systematic killing of women and children, as well as the situation of hunger in Palestine, used as a weapon of war, something that the UN has recognized. They also mentioned the similarity of life in Palestine to that of a concentration camp.
“The final solution imposed by Netanyahu, like that of Hitler, becomes more brutal as defeat approaches. We are witnessing this final solution because Netanyahu and the Zionist entity are being decisively and humiliatingly defeated by the Palestinian people and the National Palestinian Resistance. Therefore, it is a moral obligation to defend the resistance,” the general director stated while receiving applause from the audience.
Zionist entities in Brazil were criticized for attempting to equate any criticism of Zionism with antisemitism. It was stated that supporting the Palestinian resistance is not a crime, but rather an act of solidarity with a people oppressed for more than 77 years.
Before continuing with other speakers, Bellizia asked for a minute of silence to pay tribute to Professor Fausto Arruda, founder of AND, who passed away on February 17, highlighting his role as a defender of the Palestinian people.
An activist for the formation of the Anti-Imperialist League emphasized that imperialism is a system “in crisis, destined to failure by its own internal laws,” creating racist and fascist ideologies to maintain its dominance, noting that Zionism is an instrument of imperialism in the Middle East. He also acknowledged the ongoing revolutionary struggles around the world.
This idea was echoed by a worker and leader of MARRETA, who denounced the actions of the Zionist state as terrorist and criticized the Brazilian government for not severing ties with Israel, emphasizing that the Palestinian struggle reveals the fragility of imperialism. “The struggle of the Palestinian people has condensed, has fermented, and will undoubtedly make a leap in the situation of the world, because this people has uncovered the fragility of imperialism and its watchdog in the Middle East.“
The role of the media was also discussed. Activist Claudia Assaf was persecuted and prosecuted for her pro-Palestinian stance, and attempts were made to force her to promote Zionist propaganda on her social media. Maira Pinheiro denounced how Zionist soldiers boast about their crimes online, stating, “It is a televised crime not by the victims, but by the perpetrators.”
Sonia Bonfim, representative of the Collective of Mothers Victims of State Violence, denounced the parallelism of genocide in Brazil. “The same war that occurs in Palestine happens here in Rio de Janeiro… We go out every day under gunfire; we cannot send our children to school,” she stated. Sonia had a daughter shot by the Military Police (MP) in front of the school and lost her son and husband at the hands of the same MP, “We use resistance against force, and we will resist until the end,” she affirmed.
At the end of the event, a motion was signed to demand the severance of relations with Israel and the end of censorship project No. 472/2025, and to call for the establishment of Solidarity Committees with the Palestinian People throughout Brazil.
