The young people across Brazil will be on the streets on May 15 against the injustices of World Cup. There will be massive simultaneous demonstrations in the cities of São Paulo, Brasília, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Vitória, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Belém, São Carlos, Sorocaba, Campinas, Uberlândia and Fortaleza, among others. The precarious conditions and lack of investments in basic sectors such as public healthcare, education and housing are the main causes and demands of this national movement. If on the one hand billions of reais have been spent on the World Cup, on the other hand millions of people across the country have been removed from their homes in order to build billionaire and luxurious stadiums, which made construction multinationals even richer.

STATEMENT BY JUNTOS: 15-M, Brazil in the field! Take the streets!

Our lineup for Thursday’s battle:

1. IN THE COUNTER-ATTACK TO THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES CUP. Who is winning 2014 FIFA World Cup? The rich and powerful people. Among those who profit most in this country there are the contractors and builders responsible for the construction of the World Cup stadiums, such as OAS, Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez. Large corporations are the real winners of the Cup. Conversely, governments and traditional parties continue to be funded by these sectors in the elections. While contractors earn lots of money, most of the population suffers from rising rents, real estate speculation, removals and lack of transport, health, security and education.

2. DRIBBLING THE TREACHEROUS UNIONS, WORKERS ARE STRUGGLING. With the lesson that struggles bring victories, the team of the people goes on the attack: it’s time of strikes and occupations. Struggles explode throughout Brazil! Strikes of University technicians, education professionals from Rio, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, road workers from Rio, ABC, Campinas, Belem and Florianopolis, street cleaners in some capital cities, workers of culture, health agents and countless others that do not reach the news.

3. DEFEAT THE TEAM OF CONSERVATISM. The battle of ideas is still alive. The struggle for more democratic rights gains strength in the streets, with large marijuana marches, demonstration of women and LGBT parades. However, the conservatives wouldn’t let us win the match by walkover. They are also organizing their attack and defense. Because of people like Sherazade, Bolsonaro and Feliciano who shout their hate and cry for the people to do justice with their own hands, we watch barbarism everyday. In a society characterized by police violence, that murders young black people in the peripheries of the country, such people encourage prejudice in the streets and in the stadiums. Since conservatives are also present in the field, we play this match to defeat racism, sexism and homophobia!

4. THE SUBERB GOAL OF THE STRUGGLE FOR HOUSING. The occupation People’s Cup in Itaquera, in conjunction with other MTST actions, re-signified the struggle for housing in our country, especially in proximity of the Cup. 3km away from Itaquerão Stadium, where the World Cup opening will occur, the occupation is bringing to the center of politics the serious problem of housing and rent prices. Let’s all support MTST!

5. THE SECOND HALF OF THE YOUTH. In June, we learned that in the streets we achieve victories. The method of mobilization is the best mthod to transform our lives. Now we are going to the streets in the national indignation day for our second half, 15-M. We want to make the young people protagonists of the struggles in our country. Juntos was part of those who marked the history of our country in June 2013 and we want to continue contributing to the history, putting the young people also as protagonist of this new chapter. In May 2014, we take the streets to defend the inheritance of June against those who continue selling our rights. There won’t be any repression capable of keeping us quiet. From North to South, 300 leaders of student movement organized an unified Manifesto calling the youth to mobilize against the World Cup injustices. This initiative is an important milestone of unity among sectors that participate in the Left Opposition of the National Union of Students (UNE) and ANEL, besides other groups, demonstrating the need to advance our struggles together.

6. IN FIFA WORLD CUP, PEOPLE BUILD THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS. This 15-M is going to be the “demonstration of the demonstraitons” in counterpoint to the Cup of the Cups propagated by the government. Unifying the various ongoing struggles, we will take the streets to fight against the exorbitand expenditures of the Cup, against the FIFA intervention and against the laws of repression, that try to silence the movement by framing activists as terrorists within the “FIFA Standards” AI-5.

7. YELLOW CARD FOR THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT! Repression is the weapon used by the government to stop the demonstrations. All governments are preparing to maintain “order” for FIFA. Repressive laws and persecution of activists remind us of a dark period of the history of our country. In Rio Grande do Sul, Lucas Maróstica from Juntos, Matheus from ANEL and other activists are being indicted for the crime of private militia, a clear retaliation for June Journeys. All our solidarity for those fellows! We are together with Amnesty International campaign that gives Brazil a yellow card and join the field to defend the right to protest during the World Cup. We will not accept human right violations on behalf of the big events!

8. OUR FANS WIN THE WORLD. Less than 30 days to the World Cup, the world’s eyes are on Brazil. The struggle of Brazilian people, with their strikes and demonstrations, gains prominence in world newspapers. Our call to 15-M gained international actores: Buenos Aires, Santiago, Barcelona, Paris, London, Bogota, Berlin are also in the field against the injustices of the cup.

9. THE TEAM OF THE PEOPLE IN THE FIELD. We learned from June Journeys that the only way to achieve collective victories is to go to the streets. To gain more rights we will paralyze the top 50 cities in Brazil with creativity, unity and combativeness. We want to turn inside out the country’s priorities! Rather than funds for FIFA World Cup, we want investiments and more right for the people!

10. BRAZIL’S LARGEST GRANDSTAND. #TakeTheStreets. In June 2013, we proved that Brazil’s largest grandstand is the street when we fight for our rights. For our 15-M, we call all our members, supporters, young people and friends to come and build the great tide of youth and workers to stop the country on this day.

11. IN THE STREETS FOR THE SIXTH TITLE OF OUR RIGHTS. #ThisChangesTheGame. This 15-M will be a centralized day of struggles. In the streets, we are going to unify the struggle of the workers, popular movements and youth to win the sixth title of our rights. Together we will defeat the repression and continue achieving more victories.

Juntos! – juntos.org.br

Versão em português (Portuguese version): juntos.org.br/2014/05/15-m-o-brasil-em-campo-ganhar-as-ruas/

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