AUTHOR’S NOTE:
The following text is a work of fiction that imagines a scathing critique by Karl Marx of mayoral candidate Nelson Spolaor’s speech, given on April 11, 2024, published on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5jnLrlLXjX/:
SPEECH BY NELSON SPOLAOR on 04/11/2024
Confrontation of project and society that we want to live in.
The side there are those of hatred, anger, prejudice, discrimination, persecution, authoritarianism.
This is what is centered on the two candidacies of our two opponents. These are concepts of society. We, now, with President Lula, we are going to win the elections so that we can effectively take ever deeper steps towards seeking an egalitarian society, seeking a just society, truly seeking a society that brings opportunity to our youth, which generates employment, which generates economic development growth, as we know how to do.
As mayor Vanazzi made it go from the twelfth economy to the seventh economy.
But we actually look at this growth from the perspective of income distribution, from the perspective of equality, from the perspective of the poorest, from the perspective of those who have the need and dream of having decent housing under the look and the dream of those who fight to have a quality education.
And our government provides quality education under the eyes of those who defend the Unified Health System to serve those who need it most.
Here in São Leopoldo, our generous project will continue, because we, together with Ana, are going to cover every space in this city. Walk street by street, Walk house by house. Walk in the squares.
Companion on the streets. Walking in the city center. But if there in Santa Marta it is there in the sense, it is there in Vila Braz Schutze and going everywhere, we who dream, who are driven by dreams, we who campaigned with heart, who campaigned with passion, who have , a generous project, We do not give up on conquering NEUSA every day more people, every day more people of us.
For us to go one by one, creating, in fact, every day more companions
For us, indeed, enchanting.
The streets of this city, build our government program, carry our message.
And we bring hope, dreams and conditions, in the certainty that São Leopoldo has come a long way under the leadership of Mayor Vanazzi. And we still have a lot of challenges for São Leopoldo to continue advancing in the re-election of this project. A big hug, companions, Let’s build this story together.
I’m absolutely sure we are.
In this political satire, I invoke the spirit of Marx to analyze the contradictions and fallacies present in Spolaor’s speech, using fundamental concepts of Marxist theory, such as social relations of production, class struggle and bourgeois domination.
In this text, an ironic attempt is made to expose how Spolaor’s speech contradicts the precepts of Marx and Weber, perpetuating the oppression of the working class.
The idea is to provide a provocative and thought-provoking tone behind the scenes of politics, from the perspective of one of the most influential thinkers in history. Good reading.
Comrades,
It is with great regret that I am forced to comment on the speech given by Nelson Spolaor, candidate for mayor in São Leopoldo (RS), on April 11, 2024.
This speech reminds me of Fidel Castro’s endless and torturous speeches, which contributed nothing to the fight against oppressive superstructures, so well described by Antonio Gramsci.
Spolaor, representative of a government that has been in power for 20 years, does not present anything revolutionary in his administration. Until recently, they did not even pay municipal employees’ thirteenth salary on time, demonstrating total disregard for the working class. The health crisis has only worsened, highlighting this government’s inability to meet the population’s basic needs.
The alleged jump from twelfth to seventh place in the State’s economy had no merit from the City Hall. This achievement is due to the hundreds of entrepreneurs who generated ICMS returns with their economic activities, while the city hall only receives, in addition to the corresponding tax credit, credit for work it did not carry out.
In the last five years, IPTU has increased by more than 50%, penalizing precisely the poorest, those who most need State support. A government is not measured by its ability to deliver boring and boring speeches, but rather by its ability to unite the different segments of society for the common good.
I confess that I abhor boring speeches, devoid of content, in which the rhetoric boils down to consolidating the speaker’s ego. Nothing more boring than Fidel Castro’s speeches, which went on for hours on end, without adding anything to the workers’ struggle. Political leaders need to focus on concrete actions, instead of getting lost in empty words.
Spolaor’s speech contradicts the fundamental precepts of social relations of production, so well analyzed by me in my studies. By ignoring the importance of controlling the relations of production, Spolaor demonstrates his inability to exercise ideological power over the collective consciousness, thus perpetuating the domination of the working class by the bourgeoisie.
Furthermore, Spolaor’s discourse lacks a deep understanding of the motivations underlying social actions, something that Max Weber emphasized in his comprehensive sociology. Without understanding the meaning of social action and the reasons that lead individuals to act in a certain way, it is impossible to build a truly fair and egalitarian society.
Finally, it is clear that Spolaor does not understand the importance of social relations in transmitting ideas, values and behaviors legitimized by a society. By ignoring this fundamental aspect of sociology, he demonstrates his inability to lead genuine social transformation, thus perpetuating the inequalities and injustices that plague the working class.
When Spolaor states that “the side there are those of hatred, anger, prejudice, discrimination, persecution, authoritarianism”, he completely ignores the class struggle and the conflict inherent to the social relations of production in the capitalist system. This simplistic and Manichaean view does not match the reality of social and economic relations.
By saying that “we, now, with President Lula, are going to win the elections so that we can effectively take ever deeper steps towards seeking an egalitarian society, towards seeking a fair society”, Spolaor demonstrates a shallow and mistaken understanding of what it really means to build an egalitarian and fair society.
It is with great indignation that I come to criticize the actions of the Lula and Dilma governments, which, under the false promise of economic development and social justice, further deepened the gap between rich and poor in Brazil.
As reported on the internet years ago, these governments allocated more than 1.2 trillion reais to friendly companies, such as JBS and BRF, through BNDES.
And as if that weren’t enough, in his first year of government in his third term, Lula has already called his companies friends, as reported in further expanding the power of big capital.
This attitude clearly demonstrates that Lula is not committed to the emancipation of the working class, but rather to maintaining the status quo and perpetuating bourgeois domination. It is truly absurd that a government that calls itself left-wing continues to favor the interests of big capital to the detriment of workers.
This harmful practice not only goes against the basic principles of the class struggle, but also perpetuates the domination of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat.
By favoring large corporations to the detriment of workers, Lula and Dilma demonstrated their total subservience to capital and their inability to promote true social transformation.
These governments, which claimed to be defenders of the interests of the working class, in fact acted as mere puppets of the bourgeoisie, keeping the structures of oppression and exploitation intact.
Without a profound transformation in the social relations of production, it is not possible to achieve true equality and social justice.
Spolaor also states that he “looks at this growth from the perspective of income distribution, from the perspective of equality, from the perspective of the poorest”, but ignores the fact that income distribution and equality can only be achieved through overcoming of the capitalist system and the abolition of private ownership of the means of production. Without this structural transformation, any attempt at income distribution will only be palliative and will not resolve the contradictions inherent to capitalism.
When Spolaor says that “we who dream, who are driven by dreams, we who campaigned with heart, who campaigned with passion, who have a generous project”, he falls back into an empty and sentimentalist speech, which does not address the concrete and material issues that affect the lives of the working class. Dreams and passion are not enough to transform social reality; a critical analysis of the social relations of production and revolutionary action are needed to overcome the capitalist system.
Finally, by stating that “São Leopoldo has already come a long way under the leadership of Mayor Vanazzi” and that “we still have a lot of challenges for São Leopoldo to continue advancing in the re-election of this project”, Spolaor demonstrates his inability to break with the logic of power established and propose a radical transformation of society. The mere continuity of a political project, without a deep critique of the social relations of production, will not lead to the emancipation of the working class.
Democracy is the best regime to criticize, as it allows the free expression of ideas and opinions.
However, unfortunately, in Brazil, it cannot be said that there is a full democracy, since different opinions are often silenced by what is called “monocratic decision” or “collegiate decision”.
Spolaor’s speech simply boils down to suppressing the voice of those who think differently, ignoring that I never preached the annihilation of opposites, but rather the dialectical overcoming of social contradictions.
Observing the audience during Spolaor’s speech, I am struck by the boredom in the expressions of those present. Many, sitting to the side, look down, while others, surreptitiously, keep their eyes focused on their cell phone screens, trying to endure the leader’s boring speech.
Even Nestor, his party partner, seems unable to bear it and, at 2 minutes and 29 seconds into the video, he shows an irresistible urge to yawn. This widespread lack of interest is a clear reflection of the lack of substance and relevance of Spolaor’s speech, which is limited to repeating platitudes and empty promises, without presenting a critical analysis of social and economic reality.
The working class needs to unite and fight against this oppressive system, which privileges the interests of the bourgeoisie to the detriment of those most in need. Only through class struggle and mass awareness can we build a truly fair and egalitarian society, where democracy is full and dissenting voices can be heard and respected.
Forward, comrades! The fight goes on!
Karl Marx
https://oantagonista.com.br/brasil/a-volta-das-empreiteiras-amigas-ao-bndes/
