Brazilian workers, Indigenous Peoples, landless families and all those who have struggled for dignity and social justice must come out in their millions to defend the gains won through years of struggle.
Lula da Silva’s first two terms showed that government action can improve the lives of working people. Between 2003 and 2010, Brazil’s minimum wage rose substantially in real terms and more than 15 million formal jobs were created. Bolsa Família extended income support to millions of poor families, helping reduce poverty. His governments also advanced the recognition of Indigenous territories and measures to support landless families. These achievements did not end inequality or complete the struggle for land and justice, but they changed lives and gave millions greater security and opportunity.
Under Lula’s current government, Brazil has restored a policy of real increases to the minimum wage. It rose to R$1,518 in 2025, including a 2.5% increase above inflation, and to R$1,621 in 2026. The income-tax exemption has also been expanded to cover people earning up to R$5,000 a month. Brazil’s annual unemployment rate fell to 5.6% in 2025, the lowest in the statistical series that began in 2012. Employment reached a record 103 million people, while average real earnings rose. These gains matter, even as workers continue to face informality, precarious work and inequality.
Indigenous land demarcations have resumed after years of paralysis. By the end of 2025, the government reported that 20 Indigenous territories had been formally homologated since 2023. Agrarian reform has also been revived: in 2023, nearly 50,600 families were incorporated as beneficiaries, and the Terra da Gente programme was launched to expand access to land. Brazil’s return below the UN hunger threshold in 2025 marked further progress in the fight against hunger and poverty. Yet many families remain landless, and Indigenous communities continue to defend their territories and rights.
These gains are hard-won and remain incomplete. A Bolsonaro victory would put them at risk. Jair Bolsonaro’s previous government replaced Bolsa Família with Auxílio Brasil, approved no new Indigenous land demarcations and promoted measures that threatened Indigenous territories. That record gives workers, poor communities, Indigenous Peoples and landless families every reason to mobilise against a return to that politics.
A Bolsonaro government would also draw Brazil closer to the reactionary agenda associated with Donald Trump: anti-worker, anti-poor and favourable to billionaires and the powerful. Brazil has proud traditions of solidarity and internationalism. It must join the peoples of the world in their anti-imperialist struggle, not be drawn into the imperialist agenda of the powerful.
SAFTU stands in solidarity with Brazil’s working class and popular movements.
We call on workers, trade unions, Indigenous Peoples, landless families, students and communities to unite and mobilise in their millions. Defend the gains. Deepen them. Build a Brazil where wealth and land serve the people, and where every person can live and work with dignity.
A statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by the General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at
Newton Masuku
newtonm@saftu.org.za
0661682157
Media Officer
Asive Dyani
0719019564
