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Posted on 01/21/2003 4:23:12 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
As President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva and the Workers' Party (PT) begin to govern Brazil, an important political cycle opens in Latin American politics.
Given Brazil's geo-political importance, its policies will affect events throughout South America and thus may come to shape American foreign policy in the region.
1. The Emerging Political Picture
Throughout the election campaign, the PT, and particularly its presidential candidate, disguised or denied their relationship with the ideologies and methods of the conventional left.
Nevertheless, Lula da Silva’s victory is being presented, especially outside of Brazil, as if the Brazilian public had subscribed en masse to leftist ideology.
In order to analyze objectively what is really happening in Brazil, we must first of all point out that the votes given to Lula da Silva did not reflect support for a leftist ideology and that the majority of Brazilians remain as conservative as ever. This is recognized by leftist leaders, even within the PT itself. It is further confirmed by the glaring discrepancy between Lula’s share of the vote and that garnered by the PT.
It should be also emphasized that Brazilian voters had only leftist candidates to choose from, without a single conservative alternative. Many political analysts and important people pointed out this fact before and after the elections.
If the present administration ignores this profound reality of public opinion and adopts unequivocally leftist measures, it will run the risk of splitting the country socio-politically.
Such divisiveness could cast Brazil into a state of social upheaval similar to that seen now in neighboring Venezuela, under President Hugo Chavez’ leftist policies.
A possible convulsion of this magnitude would destabilize all South America, with grave political, social and economic consequences.
2. An Unexpected Shift to the Left
With the installation of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration, its ideological course is becoming clearer.
Lula da Silva based his whole campaign – a deftly carried out marketing operation – on the idea that he had ripped up his membership card in the radical left. Even his designer suits and personal appearance seemed to corroborate this purported ideological change.
This metamorphosis was minted into the celebrated sobriquet “Lulinha, (Little Louie), peace and love,” paraphrasing the motto of the hippie movement in the 60’s. That sobriquet conveyed the image of a benevolent, moderate, conciliating leader far removed from the revolutionary methods of the left.
After the election, Lula da Silva attempted to maintain some consistency between his campaign image and his statements and attitudes. Thus, he picked a few people for his governing team from the corporate world, a decision that helped to calm down the markets.
a) A Cabinet With Many From the Radical Left
Nevertheless, during the two weeks after the inauguration, political observers have noted a shift to the left in the new government’s orientation. This is true both for appointees at the Cabinet and Deputy Secretary levels, and for policies that have been announced in some areas.
To start with, the man picked to be the president’s Chief of Staff, Minister José Dirceu, is a former activist of the National Liberation Alliance (ALN), a guerrilla organization known for kidnappings and bank robberies.
Mr. Miguel Rossetto, Minister of Agrarian Development (Land Reform), is a Trotskyite from the leftmost wing of the Workers’ Party and is linked with the Landless Movement (MST), a close ally of the Colombian FARC guerrillas.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Ms. Dilma Rousseff, was a leader of Palmares Armed Revolutionary Vanguard (Var-Palmares), a guerrilla organization.
Moreover, several members from the Trotskyite “Liberty and Struggle” organization were called to join the Federal Government in Brasilia, where we find at the top echelon of government people like Antonio Palocci, Minister of Finance, and Luís Gushiken, Press Secretary. Click here for clipping 1
These are only a few examples.
b) The New President’s Inaugural Address
This scenario of ambiguity between campaign promises and the first steps of the new Brazilian government has now congealed as the new President and his cabinet have been installed.
President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva’s inaugural speech, dubbed disappointing in the media, was marked by ambiguity.
In addition to a strong note of demagogy, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva strove to please the PT’s radical wing even as he called for political caution.
He referred repeatedly to the “mobilization of the people,” stirring up memories of a dangerous populism at odds with democratic practice, and made few references to the role of Congress in the political reforms he intends to implement.
In such a context, one of his lines was particularly telling: “I’m not the fruit of an election, I’m the result of a history.” Click here for clipping 2
It is unsettling that from its first days in power, the PT administration of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva reveals not just ambiguities but also flagrant contradictions with his election promises.
c) Speeches by the New Ministers: Profession of Leftist Ideals and Calls for “Social Revolution”
Political observers were unanimous in stating that the Lula administration’s ideas and style were revealed in his ministers’ inaugural speeches.
The Chief of Staff, Minister José Dirceu, gave the most important speech. Until shortly before the inauguration, he had been PT president and one of the architects of Lula’s changed, moderate image.
In his speech, Mr. Dirceu recalled PT’s leftist and socialist roots (a fact most craftily silenced during the election campaign); he spoke harshly of employers and preached a “social revolution” for Brazil. He also reminisced on his years of political activism (he was a guerrilla) and thanked Fidel Castro for providing asylum during his exile in Cuba. Click here for clipping 3 Click here for clipping 4
Benedita da Silva, the new Minister for Social Welfare, compared herself to Che Guevara, recalling the guerrilla leader’s phrase: “We must toughen up without losing tenderness.”
The Education Minister, Cristovam Buarque, lavished praise on dictator Fidel Castro and said that President Lula da Silva himself had recommended that “as far as education is concerned, accelerate and turn left.”
In a clear allusion to the land invasions and rural agitation carried out by the MST landless movement, the new Minister of Agrarian Development (Land Reform), Miguel Rossetto, stated “it is not the business of a democratic government under the rule of law to stifle the mobilization capacity of social movements.” Click here for clipping 5
The inaugural speeches led the daily Folha de São Paulo, the politically influential newspaper with the largest circulation, to exclaim that the PT exchanged “peace and love” for “social revolution” and, furthermore, to conclude that the government of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva “abandoned the cautious and conciliatory speech that had characterized his campaign.” Click here for clipping 6
It is important to note that José Dirceu is seen as the new government’s strong man and is known for his authoritarian attitude, even inside the PT.
In a recent issue, the important political analysis magazine, Primeira Leitura, comments on Mr. Dirceu’s political methods, in an article with a suggestive title: “Politburo Chief?” The article affirms that in his quest for power, José Dirceu intends to bring the state’s intelligence services under his control. Were this to happen, the state apparatus and the PT would enjoy a relationship fraught with dangers for the rest of society. Click here for clipping 7 Click here for clipping 19
3. The PT takes over the state apparatus
Brazil has 30 political parties registered with the Superior Electoral Tribunal. Of these, 19 are represented in the National Congress.
In spite of having the single largest bloc in the House of Representatives, the PT is clearly a minority, with 91 seats out of 513 (17.74%). In the Senate, the PT is the third largest group with 14 senators out of 81 (17.28%). Thus, the PT is far from holding a majority in the National Congress.
This minority status stands out all the more when one considers the number of PT governors elected nationwide in the same ballot that brought Lula da Silva to the Presidency: Out of 27 states, only 3 have PT governors. These 3 states with PT governors are of little overall consequence, representing only a small percentage of the national vote.
All of the above would lead one to suppose that the new government would include members of other political parties and thereby confirm Lula’s pledges that he would govern on the country’s behalf and not his party’s.
Instead, the PT ended up with the lion’s share in the new administration. What’s more, several of the independent ministers are known to have close links to the PT.
A telltale sign was the mysterious breakdown in the agreement between the PT and the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), one of Brazil’s largest political parties. It had been understood that the PMDB would fill a large number of cabinet-level and other positions in the new administration.
At the release of LulaWatch’s first issue, the PT is trying to cobble together congressional alliances that will enable it to govern effectively. One cannot rule out, however, the creation of an opposition bloc formed by three large parties, the Liberal Front Party (PFL), the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) and the PMDB.
Finally, the PT’s overwhelming presence in the state apparatus was replicated in the clearly politically motivated appointments of managers of large state-owned enterprises like Petrobrás and the Caixa Econômica Federal (Federal Savings Bank). The new head of Petrobrás lacks even that modicum of technical qualifications required by law to fill the post.
Political circles are feeling malaise and concern over this great turnaround in the PT’s attitude, which until recently officially favored a great national consensus and has now become exclusive.
In the halls of Congress, one Representative noted that the PT’s attitude is reminiscent of post-World War II East European Communist Parties, who formed large coalitions to make it to power and then seized the state apparatus for themselves.
4. Collaboration with a subversive movement
One of the most delicate aspects of the political scene in Brazil has to do with Land Reform.
Land Reform is an old banner of the left and has been promoted in various ways: now by arbitrary laws decreeing the expropriation of land and violating the principle of private property; now by land invasions promoted by the MST. The MST invades farms – which are then frequently expropriated by the Government –sets up encampments, and reduces lands that were formerly cultivated and prosperous to squalor and desolation.
MST is a socialist-communist movement that advocates seizing power by force. It uses guerrilla tactics and maintains links with the FARC guerrilla movement in Colombia. Its foundation was inspired by the Comissão Pastoral da Terra (Pastoral Commission on the Land – CPT), an organ of Brazil’s National Conference of Catholic Bishops (CNBB). From an ideological perspective, it is close to Liberation Theology.
Curiously enough, during the election campaign the MST suspended its land invasions almost completely so as not to harm Lula da Silva’s prospects, since he is closely allied with the MST in the public’s perception.
After repeated campaign promises to pacify the countryside and to rein in MST’s agitation, Lula da Silva ended up appointing Miguel Rossetto to the Ministry of Agrarian Development (Land Reform). Mr. Rosetto is the defeated candidate for Lieutenant Governor in Rio Grande do Sul State and one of the organizers of Porto Alegre’s World Social Forums. He hails from the PT’s most radical faction (the so-called “Socialist Democracy,” of Trotskyite leanings). Mr. Rosetto’s nomination was enthusiastically welcomed by the MST. In his first statement as minister, Miguel Rossetto promised to overthrow legislation that makes it hard to invade private lands.
His appointment was received with great perplexity and displeasure by agricultural leaders, who saw it as a serious breach of Lula da Silva’s election pledges. Click here for clipping 8 Click here for clipping 9
This scenario became even bleaker when, in a clear allusion to MST’s subversive activities, Minister Rossetto stated in his inauguration speech that it is not the business of a democratic government to repress “social movements.”
In what appears to be a well-concocted game ably played by both sides, in the next few days the MST is supposed to present its wish list to the Minister, and the latter is engaged in talks with President Lula da Silva to ensure that whoever is appointed to head the National Institute of Colonization and Land Reform (Incra) is acceptable to the MST.
The new government’s favoritism towards a subversive movement like MST can quickly lead to a widespread climate of subversion in Brazil’s countryside. Click here for clipping 5
5. An Ambiguous Foreign Policy
Perhaps one of the greatest ambiguities manifested by the Lula da Silva administration is its foreign policy.
a) Ideological Rapprochement with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez
Throughout his election campaign, Lula da Silva carefully distanced himself from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Lula’s efforts were so successful, that it created quite a stir in the media when, in perhaps his only exception to this strategy, he referred publicly to Armando Valladares – an ex-Cuban political prisoner and former United States ambassador to the U.N.’s Human Rights Commission – in a disparaging and insolent manner. Lula’s strategy slip was provoked by an article published by Ambassador Valladares in Miami, in which he warned about the ideological closeness between the three Latin American leaders.
Having sought court injunctions to prevent his election opponent from likening him in any way to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Lula da Silva now endeavors to support Chavez’s regime.
This he does at the very moment when the Venezuelan people manifest their rejection of Chavez’s communist-Castroite revolution in a legal manner befitting democratic practice.
The trip to Venezuela of PT envoy Marco Aurélio Garcia, special assistant to the President for foreign affairs, and President Lula’s subsequent support of the Chavez regime have created great uneasiness among the Venezuelan opposition, who had strong words of condemnation for Lula’s behavior and his government’s support for Chavez.
Marco Aurélio Garcia is secretary general of the Forum of São Paulo. This organization brings together Latin American socialist and communist parties and movements. The Forum of São Paulo was founded by Fidel Castro and Lula da Silva himself after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
As a special guest of the new government, President Hugo Chavez turned his visit into a propaganda stunt against the Venezuelan opposition. In statements to the press, published with great prominence by the important newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Chavez said the revolution underway in Venezuela will prevail, be it peacefully or violently.
The media splash was due in part to the fact that, in a clear denial of all the principles and practices that inform a democratic state under the rule of law, Chavez added that his revolution will not stop even if the opposition were to win in the voting booths. Click here for clipping 10 There is no record of any adverse reaction in Lula da Silva’s government to the Venezuelan President’s statement.
During a working breakfast with Lula da Silva, Chavez proposed energy integration among Latin American countries, particularly in regards to oil. In statements to the Brazilian media, Chavez explained that his plan presupposes that energy conglomerates not be privatized. He further explained that the project is part of his Bolivarian Revolution. This clearly ideological integration of a vital sector of the Latin American economy is aimed at creating pressure against the United States.
Chavez also requested Lula da Silva’s help in creating a group of countries friendly to Venezuela. His request was accepted and Brazil’s new president will formally propose its establishment during the inauguration of Ecuador’s new president, Lucio Gutierrez. Brazil’s diplomatic maneuvering with this initiative intends to prevent an electoral solution to the Venezuelan crisis, and, therefore, to keep Hugo Chavez in power, since he is an important ideological ally of the new PT government. Click here for clipping 11 Click here for clipping 16
Another prominent presence at President Lula da Silva’s inauguration was that of dictator Fidel Castro, who compared Lula’s ascent to power with his own. The prominence given to Fidel, enthusiastically echoed in the media, was more than just courteous and deferent treatment. Click here for clipping 14
Fidel Castro held meetings with Lula da Silva and some of his ministers; and both Castro and the new Brazilian administration announced new and important government exchange programs. Click here for clipping 15
The new government thus signals a willingness to use Brazil’s economic and geo-strategic importance to significantly expand the influence of Communist Cuba in South America.
Lula da Silva’s rapprochement with the Cuban regime at the very beginning of his term in office is in flagrant contradiction with his statements to The Washington Post during an interview with Lally Weymouth two days after his election.
The presence at the inauguration of various presidents from South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru), in addition to the President of Portugal and the Crown Prince of Spain helped underscore the special treatment bestowed by President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva on Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. It also demonstrates the clear ideological affinity between them and the Lula administration. This rapprochement seems to confirm Chavez’ own statements made soon after Lula’s election, that the three countries would form a bloc.
b) Nuclear Weapons
The statements made by Roberto Amaral, Minister of Science and Technology, in an interview with BBC Brazil, to the effect that Brazil will master the technology to build an atomic bomb, reverberated in Brazil and around the world.
The Minister’s affirmation intensified international suspicions that Lula’s administration intends to proceed with Brazil’s nuclear weapons program.
José Goldemberg, an important scientific authority in Brazil, refuted in the press the rationale put forth by the Minister that the mastering of the nuclear weapons technology would help solve the country’s energy needs, since Brazil has already mastered the technology needed for generating nuclear power. According to Goldemberg, there is an unmistakable intention to produce nuclear weapons. Click here for clipping 17 Click here for clipping 18
Minister Amaral is a former activist of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) and Brazilian Revolutionary Communist Party (PCBR), and was one of the reorganizers of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), which he represents in the Cabinet.
c) An FTAA opponent in the second most important post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
During the inaugural ceremonies, Celso Amorim, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, appointed Ambassador Samuel Pinheiro Guimarães – a bitter opponent of the FTAA and ideologically more to the left than most PT congressmen – as Itamaraty’s new Secretary General.
This clearly political step violated Brazilian diplomatic practice and was characterized as a most revealing move by political observers. The uneasiness caused by this appointment was addressed to some extent by dividing this post’s responsibilities in two, one political, the other economic. Responsibility for the latter was given to Ambassador Clodoaldo Hugueney, who will supervise trade agreement negotiations.
Another significant attitude of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the nomination of José Maurício Bustani, former director of the Organization for Banning Chemical Weapons (OBCW), as ambassador to London. Click here for clipping 12 Click here for clipping 13
6. Conclusion
The two weeks preceding Luís Inácio Lula da Silva’s inauguration and the first days of his administration have begun to reveal the true ideological colors of the new government.
In a country with a remarkably conservative population, the PT, although a minority, has managed to take over the state apparatus and appears poised to give a clearly leftist orientation to numerous and important government policies.
The contradiction between campaign promises and the first statements and measures taken by the Lula da Silva administration raises concern and mistrust in a large part of public opinion. This can eventually lead the country to a serious socio-political impasse.
Once in power, the left is showing itself determined to transform Brazil, with its very important geo-strategic position, into an ideological powerbase to oppose American influence and interests, and hopes to rally other Hemispheric nations around the South American giant.
The political rapprochement with the Cuban regime and with President Hugo Chavez are indicative of this design, as is Brazil’s announced nuclear weapons program.
Consequently, some observers point out that the most important part of the new President’s inauguration speech had to do with Brazil’s international policy: to stimulate the budding elements of international multipolarity and the democratization of international relations free from every hegemony.
Lula showed great courage in standing up to the military dictatorship and the quasi-facist industrial conditions for workers in the last days of the military dictatorship.
I was a university student in 1980 and remember Lula's heroic action in organizing a strike for the metal workers. This strike was widely broadcast on television and I remember myself getting caught up in Lula fever. He had such courage to stand up for the workers. At the time he could have "disappeared." The metal workers strike spread to other workers and even to sympathetic university students.
The people loved him for his nerve to stand up for the people at great risk to himself. I remember clearly the images of him on television standing on top of cars during the strike.
Many of you would find this to be intolerably liberal, but in a country like Brasil where the working people were treated almost like slaves, he was seen, even by the upper class as a great man.
You can say what you like but imagine how the US would be if there were none of the improvements secured by the US labor movement.
The Brasilian people love their heros and Lula is one of them. .
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