| Country: | Brazil |
| Workers' Cause Party | |
| Native Name: | Partido da Causa Operária |
| Native Name Lang: | Portuguese |
| Split: | Workers' Party |
| President: | Rui Costa Pimenta |
| Membership: | 4,883[1] |
| Ideology: | Trotskyism Anti-imperialism Marxism[2] |
| Position: | Far-left |
| Newspaper: | Workers' Cause News |
| Youth Wing: | Revolutionary Youth Alliance |
| Womens Wing: | Rosa Luxemburgo Women's Collective |
| Wing1 Title: | Cultural wing |
| Wing1: | Groups for a Revolutionary and Independent Art |
| Wing2 Title: | Black wing |
| Wing2: | João Candido Black Collective |
| Colours: | Dark Red Yellow |
| Flag: | Logomarca_do_Partido_da_Causa_Operária,_do_Brasil.png |
Workers' Cause Party (Portuguese: Partido da Causa Operária, PCO) is a political party in Brazil. Its origins can be traced back to 1978, when several Trotskyist activists who were not satisfied with the socialist international 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.
In 1980, this organization united itself with the newly formed Workers' Party (PT), becoming very involved in that decade's municipal and state elections, with several mayors 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 statutes. After that, the PCO was officially organized and founded in 1995.[3]
In 2006, the candidacy of Rui Costa Pimenta to presidency was abrogated by the Superior Electoral Court.
In 2018, PCO supported the bid of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Fernando Haddad (PT) and Manuela D'Ávilla (PCdoB) informally and critically, refusing the invitation to compose the coalition (PT, PCdoB and PROS) officially.[4]
In 2020, PCO suffered a cyber attack resulting in the loss of more than four thousand articles in its website.[5]
In August 2021, PCO expressed support to the Taliban about their "victory over American imperialism", considering it "a victory for all oppressed people".[6] The party has also praised Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, describing him as "an example of selflessness, conviction, disposition" in the struggle for "the freedom of his people".[7] the PCO however follows the traditional trotskyist position of being against individual terrorism as its method of political struggle.[8] 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.[9]
In 2022, the PCO supported the candidacy of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 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.[10]
The youth wing of the party is the Revolutionary Youth Alliance (AJR), which publishes the magazine Revista Juventude Revolucionária.
The PCO supports implementation of socialism, following the Trotskyist branch,[2] which they regard as the true form of Marxism. According to them, the Marxist movement was corrupted by Stalinism and later by social movements such as bourgeois feminism[11] and the LGBT movement, which they term as "identitarian".
The party opposes gun control policies, saying that "The bourgeoisie 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".[12] However, the PCO also considers the police 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 of 2016 as a coup d'etát[13] and were also against Lula's prison in 2018, protesting for his liberty afterwards.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the PCO supported vaccination efforts while opposing mandatory vaccination.[14]
The PCO is a staunch supporter of unrestricted free speech, 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 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 legislation and the criminalizing of homophobia.
Alleging opposition to imperialism, the PCO supports Palestine and Hamas in the Israel–Hamas war, Venezuela in the Essequibo dispute and Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
| Election | Candidate | Running mate | Colligation | First round | Second round | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||||
| 1998 | None | None | None | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2002 | Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO) | Pedro Paulo de Abreu (PCO) | None | 38,619 | 0,05% (#6) | - | - | Lost | |
| 2006 | Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO) | Pedro Paulo Pinheiro (PCO) | None | 0 | 0% (#8) | - | - | Lost | |
| 2010 | Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO) | Edson Dorta Silva (PCO) | None | 12,206 | 0.01% (#9) | - | - | Lost | |
| 2014 | Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO) | Ricardo Machado (PCO) | None | 12,324 | 0.01% (#11) | - | - | Lost | |
| 2018 | None* | None | None | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2022 | None* | None | None | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Source: Election Resources: Federal Elections in Brazil – Results Lookup* | |||||||||
| Election | Chamber of Deputies | Federal Senate | Role in government | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |||
| 1998 | 8,067 | 0.01% | New | 274 | 0.00% | New | ||||
| 2002 | 29,351 | 0.03% | 0 | 194,112 | 0.13% | 0 | ||||
| 2006 | 29,083 | 0.03% | 0 | 27,476 | 0.03% | 0 | ||||
| 2010 | 6,660 | 0.01% | 0 | 21,263 | 0.01% | 0 | ||||
| 2014 | 12,969 | 0.01% | 0 | 8,561 | 0.01% | 0 | ||||
| 2018 | 2,785 | 0.00% | 0 | 38,691 | 0.02% | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | 8,660 | 0.01% | 0 | 26,614 | 0.03% | 0 | ||||
The PCO is accused by various media outlets, rival leftist parties (such as PT and PSOL) and former members of being a cult 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 and very close to a personality cult, in this case a personality cult around the Costa Pimenta family, the founding family of the PCO).[18] [19] [20] [21]
Because they support the Taliban, the PCO and its supporters are accused by some progressive movements (mainly women's rights movements and LGBT movements) of disrespecting human rights, as they claim that PCO defends a hostile regime to women and other minorities (such as LGBTs and non-Muslims) and who make light of the fatal victims who had their rights disrespected by the Taliban.[22] [23] [24] [25] However, the party has throughout its history consistently defended the rights of women (including the right to abortion),[26] homosexuals[27] and, despite accusations of anti-semitism, the party also defends the freedom of belief and the existence of the jewish community, both inside and outside Brazil.[28]
There are allegations made by other organizations about attacks against feminists, indigenous rights activists, the homeless, the Homeless Movement of the Centre (MSTC), students and members of other left-wing parties, who accuse the PCO of truculence and of having a position similar to fascism.[29] [30] [31] [32] [33] Despite these allegations, the party denies that it has attacked any activists from popular organizations and, to date, none of the allegations against the party have been proven. However, it is a fact that the Workers' Cause Party has participated in several episodes of street fights involving its militants and individuals linked to right-wing organizations, such as the “Movimento Brasil Livre” (Free Brazil Movement),[34] Bolsonaro militants and economic liberals.[35]