Brazilian president

Brazil: Can Lula the Lefty do better?

Brazilian voters narrowly elected former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as the next President defeating Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing incumbent. The vote percentage was 50.9% against 49.1% so it’s not a sweeping victory but a narrow squeak through. Lula is beloved of the Global Left who has no serious icons left in the world now. But the troubles may not be entirely over. Bolsonaro had indicated that he may not hand over power that easily but he seems to have relented now. Bolsonaro, is an ex-army who had often said that he won't accept an electoral loss. Because the loss margin is less than 1% he was confident of street and public support. Bolsonaro supporters termed the election as a fraud and called for military intervention. However, several key allies have recognized the result leaving Bolsonaro looking increasingly isolated. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden and the presidents of all of Brazil’s South American neighbors have congratulated Lula, further increasing the pressure on the incumbent. Lula wants power not a fight and said, “As of January 1, 2023, I will govern for 215 million Brazilians and not just for those who voted for me. There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people, and one great nation.” Who is Lula? Lula is a trade union leader who established the leftist Worker’s Party which won the Presidential election in 2002. He ruled for 2 terms and they coincided with a surge with booming value of Brazilian commodities and rising exports to China. His major expansion in social programs, particularly Bolsa Família which gave the poor “cash for school attendance” made him very popular. His departure in 2010 was with an 83% approval rating. In 2017, Lula was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced for 10 years. But in 2021, Brazil’s Supreme Court overruled Lula’s conviction, saying his right to a fair trial had been compromised. But Brazilians are split on his guilt or innocence. 44% believe he was rightly convicted, while 40% believe his conviction was unjust. Read: PM Sheikh Hasina congratulates Lula on winning Brazil election Why did Bolsanaro lose ? The main enemy is Covid and the global economic downturn. Bolsonaro handled it poorly with more people dying than all countries except the US. After Lula’s release, his alliance with disgruntled rights wingers tipped the scale. Lula has promised to restore public services now sunk low due to years of underinvestment, lower domestic energy prices, battle inflation and easing food insecurity. Some are however critical of his policies as he has declared nothing. Lula told TIME magazine, in March 2022. “ I’ve been a President twice already. We don’t discuss economic policies before winning the elections. First, you have to win the elections.” With eight years of deep economic crisis, this round for Lula will be tough. Lula had greatly benefited from a commodity economic boom that was over. Now, global economic turmoil from the war in Ukraine is driving up energy prices, while a years-long drought is curbing food production. Bolsonaro’s global image is very negative due to his ravaging of the Amazon and handling of the Covid crisis. He called it a “little flu” but ended up with 700,000 recorded COVID-19 deaths. But Bolsonaro is hardly over. Many of his ministers have won the election and his political movement is very alive. Even the former environment minister won a seat in Brazil’s Congress at the first round of elections making his right-wing Liberal Party the largest party in both the upper and lower house. The governorships of Brazil’s three most economically-important states were also won by Bolsonaro allies. Lula’s challenge is very big indeed. Lula’s world has changed Read: Brazil election: Lula defeats Bolsonaro to become president again Lula is being welcomed by the liberal section of the West because of his environmentalist agenda. But Lula is also not an ally of the West as some think. He is not supporting Ukraine against Russia “The United States has a lot of political clout. And Biden could have avoided [the war], not incited it, Biden could have taken a plane to Moscow to talk to Putin. This is the kind of attitude you expect from a leader.” The world has changed much since Lula was the President last. Not only has the economy become more globalized and interconnected but the challenges are in every sector including health and war. Lula has returned to power when the world is in its worst shape in many ways since the last few decades. In this world, a better environment and economy doesn’t depend on Brazil or Lula anymore. Russia and the West have shown their capacity to manage a world in which they reign as superpowers is very limited. Commodity prices have shifted by artificial demand loss generated by the war in Ukraine. The West did push the world into an acute shortage zone willingly, whether it’s the Russians or the US. Why Lula should be responsible for saving the environment when the West doesn’t take on climate change issues is a question he won’t answer but will become a big reality. The One world never existed, never will. It’s how Brazil plays that game in the absence of any serious “political” globalization, that global issues including climate change should be considered.

2 years ago

Brazilian President now the 'poster boy' for dubious COVID treatment

After months of advertising an unproven anti-malaria drug as a treatment for Covid-19, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is turning himself into a test case live before millions of people as he swallows hydroxychloroquine pills on social media and encourages others to do the same.

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