Brazilian communist parties react to Lula’s election victory

PCB: “The struggle continues”

The PCB welcomed Lula’s victory as a defeat for the far right but emphasised that the election result must not bring popular mobilisation to an end. Its message following the vote called for victory at the ballot box and in the streets, urging people to continue organising.

The party’s position builds on its assessment following the first round of voting on 4 October. While calling for Lula to defeat Flávio Bolsonaro in the second round, the PCB maintained its political and organisational independence from the Workers’ Party (PT). It argued that the growth of the far right was linked, in part, to the retreat of the left from working-class neighbourhoods, workplaces and peripheral communities.

The PCB has called for renewed grassroots organisation and a political agenda centred on workers’ demands, including better wages, shorter working hours, employment, housing, public transport and stronger public services. It has also criticised the policy of class conciliation pursued by Lula’s political camp, arguing that concessions to big business and financial capital cannot resolve the fundamental problems facing working people.

For the PCB, therefore, defeating the far right at the polls is important but insufficient. The party argues that sustained mobilisation and independent working-class organisation are necessary to defend democratic rights and advance social demands after the election. It warns against political accommodation with capital and insists that the struggle for workers’ demands must continue independently of the new government.

PCdoB: A victory for democracy and popular mobilisation

The Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) celebrated Lula’s re-election as a historic victory for the Brazilian people, democracy and the struggle for a more just and sovereign country. In a statement published on 26 October, interim party president Nádia Campeão credited popular mobilisation during the campaign with helping Lula overcome Flávio Bolsonaro.

The PCdoB highlighted the role of campaigning in the streets and on social media, including efforts to persuade people who had abstained or cast blank or invalid ballots in the first round to support Lula in the runoff. The party presented the result as a choice between competing political projects, contrasting Lula’s programme of inclusive development and national sovereignty with the far right’s attacks on democratic rights and Brazil’s independence.

Campeão also stressed the international significance of the result, particularly for Latin America, where the party sees the far right and US interference as major challenges. The PCdoB argued that Lula’s victory provides an opportunity to advance a development programme addressing social inequalities while defending democracy and national sovereignty.