Two May Day Reports from Brazil

We hereby share a summarization of two May Day reports from Brazil, published by A Nova Democracia (AND).

Brasília

On May 1, 2026, the streets of Brasília were the scene of a massive proletarian demonstration involving students, workers, and popular movements. Organizations such as the Anti-Imperialist League (AIL), unions like Sindágua DF and SindMetrô-DF, along with collectives such as Unidade Popular (UP) and the PCBR, participated in the event, which was supported by workers who raised their fists and showed solidarity.

The demonstrators denounced the privatization of essential services, such as healthcare, energy, and sanitation, as well as the lack of housing policies and the education crisis. They criticized the regional government, accusing it of “shifting the cost of the Mastercard party onto the backs of the working class,” according to a leaflet handed over during the march. Leaflets from the Anti-Imperialist League (AIL) were also distributed.

Powerful speeches were also delivered. A representative from the Honestino Guimarães Grassroots Collective asserted that May Day must make “the bourgeoisie tremble,” linking local struggles to the global resistance against imperialism. A professor from the IFB denounced the State’s complicity in the genocide in Palestine, criticizing Brazil’s purchase of Israeli weapons. Meanwhile, Paulo Cesar, of Sindágua, stated that “May Day is a day of struggle, not a bourgeois celebration,” comparing today’s exploitation to that faced by the Chicago martyrs: “If it were up to those who live from the labor force, the limit would be the worker’s death.”

João Pessoa

On April 30, activists from various organizations, including the Aurora Democrática Collective, the Support Committee for the newspaper A Nova Democracia (AND), and the Committee for the Struggle of Humanities Students (CLEL), held an event in João Pessoa to commemorate May Day, the Day of Proletarian Internationalism.

The activists discussed with workers returning home on the 6×1 workweek and support for anti-imperialist struggles, including the People’s War in India. About 700 leaflets were handed over, urging them to fight. The State government was also criticized for postponing the discussion on reducing the workweek until the election year to reverse the popular rejection that Lula da Silva faces.

Support for the Palestinian and Iranian National Resistance was also expressed. US imperialism and the Indian State’s Operation Kagaar against the Indian revolution led by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) were condemned. Despite torrential rains and the presence of the Military Police, which launched Operation “Trabalhador” with more than ten vehicles to suppress the event, the activists carried it out successfully.

The event concluded with slogans such as “Long live a class-conscious and militant May Day!” and “Down with the 6×1!”, as well as student chants in defense of universities in the service of the people.

The source of all images are A Nova Democracia.