Combative Demonstrations in São Paulo Condemn Yankee Attack on Venezuela
Featured image: Demonstration in São Paulo, Brazil. Source: A Nova Democracia.
On February 3 and 7, anti-imperialist activists in São Paulo responded to the call of the Coordinating Committee of the Anti-Imperialist League (AIL) and mobilized in two combative demonstrations, what impacted thousands of workers in the city. These demonstrations aimed to denounce imperialist aggression and express solidarity with various liberation and revolutionary struggles worldwide.
On February 7, dozens of activists from the AIL, the People’s Women’s Movement (MFP), the Red Unity – Revolutionary Youth League (UV-LJR), and the Popular Struggle for Housing (LPM), along with workers, students, and supporters of the AND newspaper, carried out a demonstration in the Libertad (Freedom) neighborhood. Despite a torrential rain, the activists did not lower their flags; instead, they raised them even higher, chanting slogans such as “Latin America is our land, Yankees out of Venezuela!” and “Israel Out from Palestinian lands, Yankees out of Latin America!”.
The activists deployed three banners signed by the AIL with anti-imperialist slogans, elevating the internationalist character of the event beyond support for Venezuela and extending solidarity to other liberation struggles. There were also posters honoring Comrade Basavaraj, General Secretary of the CPI (Maoist), and the campaign “Where is Lichita?” demanding the safe return of Lichita, a 14-year-old girl kidnapped by the Paraguayan army. The activists also carried a large effigy representing imperialist Trump.
During the agitation, the immediate release of political prisoner Mateus Galdino, jailed by the Pernambuco Military Police, was demanded, and strong support was given to the heroic struggle for the Agrarian Revolution led by the League of Poor Peasants (LCP) in Brazil. The memory of comrade Adeildo ‘Flecha’, a leader of the LCP murdered by the BOPE of Mato Grosso, was also honored.
Despite the heavy rain, the activists engaged in conversations with hundreds of passersby, and the agitation, along with the banners and posters, drew the attention of thousands of people and got almost unanimous support. At one point, a woman tried to disrupt the demonstration with reactionary shouts and was booed by the crowd, forcing her to leave with her head down.
People from various states in the country and from around the world expressed their support for the demonstration, taking photos and recording videos, and expressed their desire to contribute to the anti-imperialist struggle. A Peruvian man was happy to see the anti-imperialist tradition he knew from Peru was also present in Brazil, and a Brazilian worker said he was very satisfied with the movement.
At the end of the demonstration, the flags of the US and Israel, as well as the effigies of Trump and Netanyahu, were burned in a symbolic act representing boundless hatred for imperialism and Zionism, which garnered immense support from the masses.
On February 3, another big demonstration was carried out, where over 1,000 leaflets were spread. During this demonstration, there was significant repression, including a reporter from A Nova Democracia being shot by police forces. We have previously reported on this incident:
