As for the 4th World Social Forum, which was broadly divulged by the media, it was another opportunity that the movement against the capitalist globalization had to strongly stand for itself, especially in the struggle for peace. The information we had from the World Social Forum is that the struggle for peace and the struggle against the colonialist and occupation policy of the United States regarding other countries, especially Afghanistan and Iraq, were greatly intensified. At the same time, we have observed that the WSF has evolved in the sense of presenting the debate on socialism and it also served to grant more room to the activity of communist parties, which helped breaking prejudices that are very common in that matter.

I would also like to approach the Santiago Meeting to say that a much discussed issue was how communist parties deal with social movements. And our Party has contributed to it by presenting a paper that was already published by A Classe Operária in which we try to highlight how important it is to communist parties come closer to social movements and take part of them with a view to exert political and ideological influence on those social movements. Evidently, it must happen according to a methodology of unity.

Our Party advocates that communist parties should act inside social movements while always using the mass line method, the unity method, the method of democratic convergence with other forces. We do not act inside the movement with exclusive purposes but, at the same time, we do not accept discriminations against communists in social movements.

The Hemispheric Meeting to Fight against the FTAA, which took place in Havana, is self-explanatory. It was the meeting where the social movement of the American hemisphere unanimously and sharply pronounced to be against the FTAA, which is considered to be a colonialist project of the United States’ imperialism, a project of annexation that has nothing to do with its alleged free trade purposes—in fact, the United States’ imperialism intent with the FTAA is to recolonize Latin America. Our delegation tried to act in the sense of showing the dangers that the FTAA represents not only to Latin America, but also to our country, and reiterate the expectations of communists—and also of the Brazilian popular movement—that President Lula’s administration will not join the FTAA, that the Lula administration will eventually interpret Brazil’s expectations of not joining that kind of agreement since it could be fatal to our country’s destiny.

The Pan-Amazonian Social Forum was an opportunity to discuss the integration of the Amazon region countries and give an alert call to draw attention to the American imperialism’s attempt at colonizing the Amazon, at plundering it, at withdrawing it from the state and national sovereignty of Amazon countries.

The International Meeting on Globalization and Development Problems addressed the neoliberal economic orientation and tried to highlight the fact that either the countries and peoples find a new form of organizing the society or they will succumb to a great crisis that affects the whole of civilization, a crisis that is taking humankind to barbarism. The result of neoliberalism has been barbarism. And that meeting in Havana was a moment of reflection and alert so that we are able not only to denounce globalization and neoliberalism, but also to find ways out of it, since those ways involve the very salvation of humankind.

Generally speaking, the meetings approached those issues. In the Seminar offered by the International Correspondences magazine, which took place in Paris, we have had the opportunity, by request of the comrades who organized the meeting, to make a speech on Brazil. And we took advantage to inform the participants regarding the new Brazilian political situation, the formation of a coalition government in Brazil—of which the left, and the Communist Party, takes part—a coalition with great challenges to face, such as the foreign debt, resistance to IMF agreements, finding a new course to Brazil, breaking with an economic and financial orientation followed by the economic team that is harmful to national interests, building in our country an economic and social development model that is President Lula’s greatest commitment. An we have expressed our expectations of having the continuing support of the European progressive forces to the Lula administration—an indispensable help to the fulfillment of our government’s purposes of change.

And we also participated in the Congress of the Italian Communists’ Party, which I would like to comment in detail by the end of the interview.

A Classe – What is the importance you see in that international articulation of communist parties?
J R C – It is essential to the future of the struggle for socialism in the world.

We think that, despite all changes that took place in the international situation, despite a temporary disorganization in several communist parties—a result of the defeats suffered by socialism all over the world, in East Europe, in the Soviet Union—and despite many setbacks in our struggle for socialism, especially in the previous decade, the struggle for socialism is still alive since socialism is the only alternative capable of saving humankind from capitalist barbarism and the struggle for socialism must be conducted by communist parties. Therefore, we believe that that international articulation of communist parties is important as each one takes advantage from the experience of the others and help themselves mutually to find ways, methods and forms to gather strength internally in their respective countries. But that effort of articulation by the communist parties should not repeat the forms taken in the past. The present international situation does not allow the artificial creation of multilateral forms of organization. So, our party stimulates the contact with other parties, it participates in bilateral and multilateral forums. And we also think that that scope is sufficient, let me put it that way, in the current conditions of the world today. At the same time we think that the present international articulations should not be limited to communist parties. It is necessary to find broad forms of making contact with other political forces that also fight for socialism without being communists.

Democratic forces, progressive forces, socialist forces. The greatest example of that is the São Paulo Forum, which is a broad articulation of the Latin American left where broad political forces from other continents also participate as guests. It is a left-wing articulation forum with a broad sense, where communist parties also participate. So, in the present international situation, we think that the international articulations of communist parties must go beyond the limits of the communist movement, that they must reach the left-wing progressive forces in the broadest sense.

A Classe – Would you make more comments on the Italian Congress?
J R C – The Congress of the Italian Communists’ Party was an activity in which the Communist Party of Brazil took part with great joy, great pleasure. We felt honored by the invitation made by the Italian Communists’ Party. It was an opportunity to have a closer look at the evolving political situation in Italy and the efforts to unify the Italian left-wing forces. I would like to highlight the following aspects regarding that congress: first, the Congress of the Italian Communists’ Party was a true political act against Mr Berlusconi’s right-wing government; it drew attention to the tragedy that looms over Italy. Under that right-wing administration, Italy is going through the most severe setbacks in its democracy, in its social justice system and in its international relations system. As the comrades from the Italian Communists’ Party would put it, with Berlusconi Italy is going through a kind of new regime in the worst meaning of the word. It is not yet a totalitarian regime in the fashion of the past, but a regime that is evolving with a trend to affect the great achievements of the Italian anti-fascist Constitution, as Italy’s very anti-fascist past, since the national liberation in 1945, is put at stake, a great setback regarding the anti-fascist achievements that that democratic Italy reached. So, the first aspect of that congress was the following: it is a sharp denounce against dismantling the democratic and social Italy. And, connected to that aspect, the setback in international relations. Italy’s Constitution establishes that the country cannot be involved in war adventures. Italy cannot attack other countries. Italy cannot send intervention troops to other countries. Under the Berlusconi administration, Italy has become a country submissive to the United States’ imperialism, it has sent troops to Iraq, which were massacred in that attack that shocked Italy. But, as the Party’s Secretary General, comrade Olivério Diliberto, said, we cannot be limited to the pain and mourning to the victims of the tragedy in Nasyria. We add to our pain and mourning the anger we feel regarding the right-wing administration. Therefore, comrades blame the right-wing administration of Berlusconi for the tragedy in Nasyria. That was another important aspect of the Congress.

But I would like to emphasize that, before such conditions, comrades from the Italian Communists’ Party commented that more than ever, Italy needs the left. Either Italy finds a way to restructure its left or the country will remain under Berlusconi’s right-wing pro-fascist administration. In that sense, the comrades proposed that Italian left-wing parties should confederate, although each force should maintain its own identity, its own traditions, its own culture and, as he had put it, its own liturgy. So, the ICP launched the idea of creating the Confederation of Left-wing Forces and Parties. Namely, they presented the need for a confederation formed by the Italian Communists’ Party, the Italian Communist Refoundation Party and the Democratic Party of the Left, the so-called “DS”. But, and here resides the peculiarity of the Italian situation, they say that in order to defeat the government of Silvio Berlusconi it is necessary to go further, it is necessary to form a center-left front to win once again a center-left government that Italy had in recent times. That is the great debate of the Italian left since there are sectors in the left and in the Italian communist movement that already broke with the center-left and that do not accept the center-left alliance and the formation of another center-left administration. So, the Congress of the Italian Communists’ Party approached that debate.

I would like to conclude our information on that congress saying that we have seen how alive the rich tradition of the Italian communist movement is. At the same time, that congress was an internationalist manifestation, especially for Latin America. On the eve of the congress the comrades held a seminar titled “The other America speaks” as part of the congress. The participants, aside from the Communist Party of Brazil and President Lula’s Brazilian Workers Party, were the Uruguayan Communist Party, the Uruguayan Broad Front; the Farabundo Martí Front of National Liberation, from El Salvador; the Sandinista Front of National Liberation, from Nicaragua; the Cuban Communist Party, Venezuela’s 5th Republic Movement and the Grandmothers of May Square Movement, from Argentina. So, those parties took part in that seminar and we had the opportunity to make a speech manifesting our opinion against the imperialist war; for the Latin American integration; our struggle against the United States’ imperialism; our struggle against the FTAA; our struggle against the payment of the foreign debt. And we have also explained to a broad audience in Italy the present strategy and tactics of the Brazilian communists as part of President Lula’s administration as a means of reinforcing that struggle. And we were thankful because we have had the opportunity to explain to that broad audience our Party’s opinion and draw Italy’s and Europe’s attention to the phenomena that are in course in our country. Evidently, without ignoring the great difficulties that the Brazilian process has been facing.

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Reportage by Francyrose de Andrade Matarazzo.
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