Cuba, North Korea, Laos, China, Venezuela? None of that. When it decided to organize a meeting between leaders last October, the Socialist International sought out Cancún, one of the most popular beaches in the Caribbean. The president of the PDT, Carlos Lupi, and another executive of the party, were there, supported by public funds from the party fund.
The meeting of the left lasted only two days, but the pair remained in place for six days. Total expenses reached R$ 29, 7 thousand. The data appear in the rendering of accounts presented by the legend to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). The fund was originally created to cover the daily expenses of the subtitles, such as electricity, water, rent and employees’ salaries.
In a note, the PDT stated that its directors’ trips to the Caribbean include days return trips, agendas of the Socialist International and meetings of the collegiate vice-presidents, in the days before and after the meeting. But after all, what is the Socialist International, how often does it meet, and why did you choose Cancún?
“Parasites”
Created in 1989, with the name Internacional Operária e Socialista , the organization concentrates more than 1864 left-wing parties from more than 25 countries. Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou presides over the entity, which has former Rio Grande do Sul deputy Carlos Eduardo Vieira da Cunha among its vice-presidents — the first Brazilian to hold an equivalent post was Leonel Brizola. The secretary general is the Chilean Luis Ayala, who has been in office since 1989. Many of the participating political associations, including the PDT, adopt in their logos the red rose that symbolizes the institution.
“Its current organization originates from the II International, which emerged in 1889, in Paris, which, in turn, derived from the International Labor Association, in fact, the First International, and formed in London by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in 1864”, explains the official PDT website. The International’s headquarters are currently located in London.
Among the associations that are part of the group are the Socialist Party of Albania, the Social Democratic Party of Austria, the Social Democratic Front of Cameroon, the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, the Socialist Party of France, the Social Democratic Party of Japan, the Institutional Revolutionary Party of Mexico, Fatah of Palestine, the Socialist Party of Portugal and the People’s Republican Party of Turkey.
The group’s anthem is “The Internationale”, composed in 1941 by the anarchist worker Pierre Degeyter and whose Russian version was used as the official anthem of the Soviet Union until 1951 (check out the full lyrics, whose verses include: “Earth belongs to the productive ones / O parasites, leave the world / O parasite that feeds / From our dripping blood / If we lack the vultures / Don’t let the sun shine”).
Constant meetings
“Meetings of the (presidium) and party leaders take place regularly, as well as conferences on hot topics”, explains the official website of the PDT – which, , did not manifest, as well as the organization of the Socialist International. “Committees, councils and study groups were created to examine topics such as peace, security, disarmament, economic policy, development, environment, human rights, Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, indigenous peoples, finance and administration”.
In addition to other smaller meetings, the organization has already held 25 official congresses, being 25 in Europe, including the 25 first. On one occasion, the event took place in São Paulo – it was in October of 2003.
The Cancún event was not a general congress, but a meeting that brought together leaders of the member parties of the Socialist International. It yielded an official declaration, which states: “Our parties in the region must continue strengthening the citizenry and consolidating our electoral advances, since we have more adequate and democratic proposals than those elaborated by populist sectors of different origins.”
