Curitiba,Paraná, Brazil – 5/1/2018 – 8 PM
1. There were acts held throughout Brazil on this May Day to celebrate the struggles and conquests of the working class, but all eyes were on Curitiba, where the main Workers Day protests was held to denounce Lula’s political imprisonment. Organized by the seven largest union federations, all left political parties and the social movements, the act in Curitiba united approximately 50,000 people. PT National President, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann was one of the main speakers. “Lula is a very strong person,” she said, “he has the vision of what he represents and means for this country, and knows that a great part of the people deposit their hopes in him. He is certain that he will come out of where his is now stronger and with more energy to confront whatever happens. No act of intolerance or violence will force us to leave Lula’s side. He is going to get out and will run for the Presidency of the Republic!”
2. Dilma Rousseff participated in the May Day commemoration in Argentina, which had street protests across the entire country and a big debate in the Buenos Aires Book Fair, one of the biggest literature events in the World. Flanked by parliamentarians and union leaders in front of a huge crowd, Dilma reaffirmed that Lula is a political prisoner, but guaranteed that, whether imprisoned or free, he will be the next president of Brazil. “They used the law to break the law. They are using the justice of the enemy, a lawfare system against Lula,” said the president, who also met with ex-President Cristina Kirchner, who is also the victim of judicial persecution in Argentina.
3. Artists and musicians made an enormous contribution to the success of the Curitiba protest. Flavio Renagado sang, “Salve Jorge” and conducted a beautiful chorus on Praça da Democracia with the song that hailed the warrior saint, the Brazilian people and their greatest leader, Lula. This show finished with an homage to the Congressmen and Senators present and with a distribution of flowers with the symbol #LulaLivre. Beth Carvalho called out the words of order, “We want Lula walking freely in this country.” And the actress Lucélia Santos led an enormous “Free Lula” yell together with the crowd.
4. Complete coverage of the protests around Brazil in defense of Lula, of democracy and of labor rights can be seen on the CUT labor union federation web page: https://www.cut.org.br/noticias/atos-de-1-de-maio-reunem-milhares-de-trabalhadores-e-trabalhadoras-em-todo-pais-da5a
5. In addition to Buenos Aires, protests denouncing Lula’s political imprisonment took place today in cities all over the World, including New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Geneva, Brussels and Gothenberg.
Bulletin 59 – People’s Committee for the Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba – 5/1/2018 – 8 PM
