On Friday, May 15th, Becky Tarlau, a Postdoctorate Scholar from Stanford and Friends of the MST gave an L.A. Local Freedom School presentation to a packed house at the Hauser office. Friends from Socialist Alternative and Revolutionary Autonomous Collective – Los Angeles joined for a multi-media presentation which was followed by a lively discussion among attendants. From the event page: “Over the past two decades left-leaning governments have come to power throughout Latin America, sometimes referred to as the “progressive block” or “pink tide.” In Brazil, the Workers’ Party (PT) was founded in the early 1980s, at the same time as oppositional labor movements, women’s right’s groups, radical church-based organizations, and rural social movements were gaining force across the country. Now in power for a fourth consecutive term, what has the rise of the PT meant for these social movements? What is the relationship between the PT, social movements, and the mass mobilizations for free public transportation in June of 2013? And what are the implications of the current mobilizations calling for the resignation of Brazil’s PT President, Dilma Rousseff?”