This year, a large turnout is expected in the streets in defense of democracy, sovereignty, and the Popular Plebiscite as tools for mobilization
Belém (PA), September 5, 2025 – On Amazon Day, around 26 organizations, including social movements, social pastoral groups, and trade union federations, launched a call for the Cry of the Excluded and the Excluded Women, which will take place on September 7 in the capital of Pará, host city of COP30. In coordination with marches happening across Brazil, the mobilization in Belém will take to the streets in defense of sovereignty, from the perspective of a country that guarantees food on everyone’s table, housing, and respect for territories. The march will also call attention to the Popular Plebiscite, which mobilizes society to debate and defend a fair working day and the taxation of the super-rich.
The Cry of the Excluded is a historic mobilization in Brazil. “The Cry of the Excluded and the Excluded Women is part of a collective made up of many social movements, social organizations, social pastoral groups, and political parties, echoing important voices that highlight our demands and the social inequalities present in our society,” explains Katiane Souza, from the Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining (MAM).
This year’s mobilizing theme is “Life First – Caring for Our Common Home and Democracy Is a Daily Struggle.” It has guided mobilizations throughout the year aimed at engaging and organizing civil society.
“This is truly a collective process of uniting forces. So, regarding September 7, beyond bringing people together, it is also about remembering and questioning whether Brazil has truly achieved independence. Especially when we look at a society where the majority are Black people, Black women, who live in contexts of exclusion, who suffer from structural racism, necropolitics, sexism, and lack access to quality education, healthcare, and housing,” she adds.
Organizations warn that Brazil is not only experiencing a weakened democracy but a threatened one, in the face of escalating hate speech, rollbacks of rights, and the capture of the State by private interests. For the movements, democracy only exists if it is exercised from the territories, with freedom of expression, popular participation, respect for diverse ways of life, and sovereignty.
“For us, sovereignty means food on the table and caring for nature. When people are able to eat properly and healthily, that represents power for the country, it represents sovereignty. When food is free of poison, that is caring for nature, and sovereignty follows that path. When people have their homes and territories respected, that is sovereignty,” says Ricardo Cabano, from the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST).
To reinforce these perspectives, the march will feature political speeches, artistic interventions, and the collection of votes for the Popular Plebiscite. The gathering will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Escadinha of Estação das Docas, followed by a march to the square in front of the Antônio Lemos Palace.
Popular Plebiscite: more than votes, a tool for mobilization
One of the highlights of the demonstration is the Popular Plebiscite “For a Fairer Brazil,” presented by Ricardo Cabano, from the MST, as a tool for mobilization and political education. The national consultation asks the population about two central issues: whether they support reducing working hours without reducing wages, and whether they support higher taxation on the super-rich while exempting low-income workers.
The plebiscite began in July this year, bringing to public debate the end of the 6×1 work schedule (six days of work and one day off). A proposal introduced in Congress by Congresswoman Érica Hilton suggests a 4×3 schedule (four working days and three days off), which would offer workers better conditions to build their lives, Ricardo explains.
He also notes that taxing the super-rich aims to correct Brazil’s existing fiscal injustice, where people with vastly different incomes—such as salaried workers and those in vulnerable situations—pay the same prices for goods as the wealthy. “This taxation seeks to reduce that injustice, recognizing that Brazil has a very large working class that already pays a heavy tax burden,” he emphasizes.
Ricardo further stresses that the plebiscite serves a broader purpose than consultation alone. “The plebiscite is not just about voting. It is a tool for mobilization and debate about time for life, time for work, and tax justice. It is the people taking into their own hands the right to decide the country’s future,” he says.
The Amazon at the center of the Cry
The demonstration will also be a space to denounce the realities of the Amazon. In Belém, where the People’s Summit House will be established, movements reinforce that the Amazon cannot be treated as a commodity in global negotiations. “Nothing about us, without us,” says Turi, a leader from the Abacatal territory in Ananindeua, reinforcing the growing demand for the participation of traditional peoples in decisions about their territories.
Service
Date: September 7, 2025 (Sunday)
Gathering: 8:00 a.m., Escadinha of Estação das Docas (Belém, Pará)
March: to the square in front of Antônio Lemos Palace
Program: Cultural interventions, speeches by popular organizations, and collection of votes for the Popular Plebiscite