Workers' Cause Party (, PCO) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in Brazil. Its origins can be traced back to 1978, when several

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

activists who were not satisfied with the

socialist international The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...

united under the name ''Tendência Trotskista do Brasil'' (''Brazilian Trotskyist Tendency, TTB''). However, the registered party was only established in 1995. Its electoral number is 29.

History

In 1980, this organization united itself with the newly formed

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

(PT), becoming very involved in that decade's municipal and state

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s, with several

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

s and state representatives elected. In 1990 and 1991, however, several TTB members were expelled from the PT due to their non-commitment to the Party's

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

s. After that, the PCO was officially organized and founded in 1995. In 2006, the candidacy of Rui Costa Pimenta to presidency was abrogated by the

Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court (, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Election Justice, Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court (Brazil), Regional Electoral Court (, TRE) in each of the 26 states and th ...

. In 2018, PCO supported the bid of

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

( PT), Fernando Haddad ( PT) and Manuela D'Ávilla ( PCdoB) informally and critically, refusing the invitation to compose the coalition ( PT, PCdoB and PROS) officially. In 2020, PCO suffered a cyber attack resulting in the loss of more than four thousand articles in its website. In August 2021, PCO expressed support to the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

about their "victory over

American imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...

", considering it "a victory for all oppressed people". The party has also praised

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

, the leader of

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, describing him as "an example of selflessness, conviction, disposition" in the struggle for "the freedom of his people". the PCO however follows the traditional trotskyist position of being against individual terrorism as its method of political struggle. The PCO also argues that the Taliban ideology and practices are "an expression of the profound social backwardness of that people", it sees the need to support any movement of national liberation against US lead imperialism. In 2022, the PCO supported the candidacy of

in the 2022 Brazilian general election, it however choose not to participate in the formal coalition or in any of the campaign committees because of divergences and repeated criticism of the program of the coalition.

Youth wing

The youth wing of the party is the Revolutionary Youth Alliance (AJR), which publishes the magazine '' Revista Juventude Revolucionária.''

Ideology

The PCO supports implementation of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, following the

branch, which they regard as the true form of

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

. According to them, the Marxist movement was corrupted by

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

and later by social movements such as bourgeois

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and the LGBT movement, which they term as "identitarian". The party opposes

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

policies, saying that ''"The

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

is armed. It has the army, the police and all other organs of repression, public or private. The people have nothing. It is defenseless in the face of the war machine of his enemies who control the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

"''. However, the PCO also considers the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

as an oppressive force and favors the formation of a "popular police". While opposing the PT due to that party's controversial alliances in the political and business sectors, the PCO interprets the PT's government as a necessary step in the current Brazilian political context, in order to strengthen workers' organizations. The party also sees the

impeachment of Dilma Rousseff The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, began on 2 December 2015 with a petition for her impeachment being accepted by Eduardo Cunha, then president of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamber of Deputies, and continued int ...

of 2016 as a '' coup d'etát'' and were also against Lula's prison in 2018, protesting for his liberty afterwards. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the PCO supported vaccination efforts while opposing mandatory vaccination. The PCO is a staunch supporter of unrestricted

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

, asserting that the people should always be entitled to express their views and opinions, no matter how controversial, offensive or misleading they might be, and that any attempt of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

will eventually result in the bourgeoisie controlling the public opinion. The party is unique in the Brazilian left in its opposition to anti-

fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...

legislation and the criminalizing of

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

. Alleging opposition to

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

, the PCO supports Palestine in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, Venezuela in the Essequibo dispute and Russia in the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Legislative elections

Newspapers and magazines

* ''Jornal da Causa Operária (JCO)'' - Physical newspaper * ''Diário da Causa Operária (DCO)'' - Current virtual newspaper * ''Causa Operária TV'' - Official YouTube channel * ''Rádio Causa Operária'' - Official radio station * ''Revista Juventude Revolucionária'' - Revolutionary Youth Alliance magazine

Controversies and criticism

The PCO is accused by various media outlets, rival

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

parties (such as PT and PSOL) and former members of being a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

and having cult-like behavior, due to the fact that party members seriously defend the ideas of their party, its founder Rui Costa Pimenta and his family (their ideas are considered by detractors as

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

and very close to a personality cult, in this case a personality cult around the Costa Pimenta family, the founding family of the PCO).

Accusations of disrespect for human rights

Because they support the

, the PCO and its supporters are accused by some progressive movements (mainly

women's rights movement Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

s and

LGBT movements Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their i ...

) of disrespecting

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, as they claim that PCO defends a hostile regime to women and other minorities (such as

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

s and non-Muslims) and who make light of the fatal victims who had their rights disrespected by the Taliban.

Attacks on other left-wing activists

Despite being a leftist party, the PCO is notorious for its attacks against

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, indigenous rights activists, landless movement, students and members of other left-wing parties, who accuse the PCO of truculence and of having a position similar to

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

Accusations of authoritarianism and nepotism

One of the reasons why the PCO is considered a

(according to former members of the party) is due to the fact that the founder and leader of the party, Rui Costa Pimenta controls the PCO in an

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

way, with an iron fist (so that only his ideas and his wishes are respected), in addition to punishing detractors who are against his ideas (mostly with

physical abuse Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or ...

) and handing over important (high-ranking) positions within the party to three of his children, Natália Pimenta, João Jorge Caproni Costa Pimenta and Carlos Henrique Caproni Pimenta. As a result, former members of the party accuse Costa Pimenta of practicing

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

, since his three children got positions in the party not on their own merits, but because they were his sons (the youngest of his three children, Carlos Henrique Caproni Pimenta, was appointed to an important position within the party when he was still a teenager).

References

{{Brazilian political parties 1995 establishments in Brazil Anti-American sentiment in South America Anti-imperialist organizations Anti-imperialism in South America Anti-Zionism in South America Brazilian nationalism Communist parties in Brazil Political parties established in 1995 Far-left politics in Brazil Trotskyist organisations in Brazil Far-left political parties Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Brazil Anti-Western sentiment Antifeminism Cults of personality Trotskyist parties Russophilic parties