The people and organizations signing this declaration:

– Demand that the government and the judicial system of Brazil immediately release Luis Ignacio “Lula” Da Silva, leader of the Workers’ Party.

– Demand freedom and full restitution of his political rights so that he can participate in the current electoral process as a presidential candidate, as millions of people in all Brazilian cities have demanded in the streets.

– Denounce the growing deterioration of the political rights and liberties of the Brazilian people, from the illegitimate parliamentary coup d’état against President Dilma Rousseff, to the assassination of the Rio de Janeiro city councillor, Marielle Franco, of the Party of Socialism and Freedom (PSOL).

– Condemn the politicized and biased use of the judicial system to persecute opponents, such as Lula Da Silva, without the existence of real and proven evidence of the committing of any crime; as well as repudiating the calls for a coup launched by sectors of the Brazilian military leadership promoted by the Globo network.

– Express our concern about the growing attack on the economic and social rights of the poorest sectors of the Brazilian people, since Michell Temer illegitimately assumed the presidency: freezing of social budgets, attacks on pensions and social security, attacks on the Amazon and environmental leaders who defend it, privatization plans and a systematic attack on national industry.

– Repudiate the so-called “inter-American system”, led by the Organization of American States (OAS), and its secretary general, Luis Almagro, which practices shameless intervention in the internal affairs of countries like Venezuela, but turns a blind eye and endorses violations of democratic rights, such as those that happen in Brazil today, or the recent electoral fraud in Honduras with its sequel of killings and political prisoners.

– Understand that the current attack on the political, democratic, social and economic rights of the Brazilian people is part of the general offensive on Latin American rights, promoted by the United States, in all countries of the continent, to impose authoritarian governments that implement the neoliberal plans dictated by Washington and the international organizations of 21^st century capitalism.

– Understand that this systematic attack on all rights, of which Lula’s situation today is the most notorious example, is part of the response of the world capitalist system which, in its growing and chronic crisis, feels the need to increase the super-exploitation of the wage earners of the world, plunder nature and recolonize independent nations.

– Congratulate the workers and people of Brazil, who have taken to the streets to defend their freedoms and democratic rights defending Lula; in their support, we call, for the reasons given, for the constitution of a broad international front of struggle to mobilize together in all countries against the current anti-democratic offensive of the Latin American right, funded and supported by the tentacles of imperialism.

We redouble efforts to demand the freedom of Lula, because the future of democracy, political freedoms and social and economic rights in Latin America are at stake today in Brazil.

Signatures:

Guillermo Almeyra, France

Mario Hernández y Ricardo Napurí, Argentina

Luis Bonilla, Movimiento por la Pedagogía Radical de las Resistencias
Stalin Pérez, Nieces Tamaroni, Christian Pereira, Marcos García e Israel Hernández for the Liga Unitaria Chavista Socialista - LUCHAS of Venezuela

Bernardette Menezes from the National Executive of the PSOL

Mario Azeredo for Fortalecer el PSOL (RS)

Edson Carneiro Indio for the Intersindical-Central de la Clase Trabajadora
Neiva Lazzaroto of the state executive of the PSOL (RS)

Marcia Tavares, general coordinator of the Asociación de los Técnicos de la Universidad (RS)

Félix Villarreal, Briseida Barrantes, Abdiel Rodríguez, Salomón Samudio, Euclides Buitrago and Olmedo Beluche for Polo Ciudadano of Panama

Edgard Sánchez, José Martínez, Héctor Sotomayor, Melisa Morán, Gabriela Zanabria, Josefina Chávez, Andrés Lund , Luis Rangel and Diego Luz for the PRT of Mexico

Claudio Katz, Argentina

Aldo Casas, Argentina.

Eduardo Lucita, EDI, Argentina.

Martín Mosquera, Cecilia Piérola, Ignacio Saffarano, Gabriela Mitidieri, Facundo Martín, Nadia Recalde for Democracia Socialista of Argentina.

Giovanni Beluche V, academic, Costa Rica.

Manuel Lasso for the Círculo Político Demóstenes Rodríguez of Panama.

Flavia Lassa de Barros, lecturer, University of Brasilia, Brazil.

Ana Cristina da Matta Furniel, Socióloga Fiacruz, Brazil.

Carla Cecilia Campos, lecturer, UFRJ.

Mathias Seibel Luce, lecturer, UFRGS.

Gabriela Rosas Iracabal, university lecturer, Chilean-Panaman.

Juliano Medeiros, President of the Executive Committee of the Partido Socialismo y Libertad (PSOL), Brazil.

International statement issued on 9 April 2018.

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