The PT can only do all this coherently on the basis of a democratic and anti-imperialist programme that breaks with the bourgeoisie — non-payment of the debt, which is strangling social budgets; a radical agrarian reform; index-linked wages; urban reform and so on. Beyond this, its capacity to resist foreseeable blackmail, threats and sabotage will depend above all on the strength of its links with the social movements and the prestige it acquires in the General stri eyes of the other Latin American peoples.
Outside of the question of programme, another problem will be whether or not to desist in the second round in the event of a run-off between Brizola and the right (the reappearance of an old hopeful like Janio Quadros is not excluded). In such a situation, there will be a strong temptation to vote for the "lesser evil", including in the PT's ranks — although for the time being the aggressiveness of Brizola's campaign is arousing PT "party patriotism".
All these questions will be discussed and probably decided at a special PT congress planned for June, to give a real send-off to the presidential campaign. * ike by 35
Brazil paralyzed by general strike IN THE Northern region of Brazil, the strike paralyzed 75% of the metallurgy and electrical industries, and 85% of civil servants and 90% of transport workers took part. In the North-East, 90% of metal, oil and bank workers joined the strike. Civil servants came out in force in the Centre-West region with 80% taking action, plus a partial paralysis in industry and services. In the South-East most transport and public services were brought to a standstill, with the finance and service sectors also hit. In industry, the most significant strikes took place in São Paulo (60%), and Rio de Janeiro (70%), involving 2.6 million workers.
Metalworkers stopped work in four states - São Paulo: in the suburbs; in million workers IT WAS one of the biggest general strikes in Brazil's history. On March 14 and 15, 35 million workers responded to the strike call put out by the two big union federations, the CUT and the CGT. The central demand of the strikers was for a 40% minimum wage rise to compensate for losses in buying power. In the last round of negotiations, José Sarney's government offered a non-backdated increase of 14.6%, while the bosses did not want to go higher than a 7.1% offer.