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The first confirmation came from Lula da Silva: Fidel Castro has cancer. Later, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry denied the president's statement, but it was accurate. The Comandante bled, the surgeons opened him up and found a cancer that had spread and was incurable. Nothing strange in an 80-year-old man, of course. The prognosis is that he will die shortly. Nobody dares to predict a date. But European diplomats in Cuba say sotto voce that he will not see New Year's Day 2007, although they then qualify their opinion: ``At that age, cancer advances slowly.'' Curiously, Castro's calculations did not include...

The Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused the European Union, the United States, and other developed economies of "corrupting" inefficient farmers by granting of subsidies and, with this, producing "poverty" in the developing world. In a speech in the second session of the Summit of European Union-America Latin-Carribean, Lula inquired, "How long will we tolerate this perverse situation?" Later, he afirmed that "In the international community, the feeling grows that agricultural subsidies, which we already know are immoral, are also illegal. The countries that retain these privileges are, in truth, producing poverty in the undeveloped countries." Later, Lula...

Latin America: For a relatively small nation, Bolivia has an uncanny way of shaking up a continent, which it did last week with energy nationalization. For democracies like Brazil, it could be a turning point. In his surprise May Day announcement, President Evo Morales "nationalized" Bolivia's natural gas resources — not just by decree, but also by force. His leftist presidency was all of 100 days old as he moved in with a crude, 1960s-style seizure of 56 natural gas fields as well as private gas stations owned by Bolivians. All were taken as if by battle, with troops triumphantly...

BRASILIA, Brazil - A Brazilian congressional investigative committee gave its final approval Wednesday to a report recommending prosecution of over 100 people linked to a campaign finance and corruption scheme run by former members of the governing Workers Party. The final panel report, approved by a 17-4 vote, had already cleared Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from any direct involvement in the scheme. It will be sent to the Federal Prosecutors' Office, which will decide whether to take legal action. The probe report recommends prosecution against at least 18 members of Congress linked to the kickback and bribery...

I find it very strange that Washington considers North Korea's communism and Iran's extremism to be eminent dangers, but not Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's communism and Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner's extremism. The fact is, U.S.-Latin American relations are at one of their lowest historical points. The majority of Latin intellectuals traditionally have felt a deep and secret inferiority complex toward the U.S., blaming it for everything bad that takes place in the hemisphere. They have taught in both public and private schools and universities for three generations, and finally have seen their favorite students reach the top political positions not...

Latin America: Brazilians are rightly angry over allegations of illegal campaign donations from Fidel Castro. True or not, they coincide with an alarming weakness in foreign policy that benefits the Cuban dictator. Was there a connection? We wonder for two reasons. First, Castro in recent years has aggressively sought influence across Latin America on a scale not seen since the 1960s. Second, Brazil has been oddly passive in response. Fortified by the record-high oil earnings of his Venezuelan ally, Castro's had a free hand to whip up anti-capitalism and anti-Americanism in a bid to confront the West. Brazil is no...

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Cuba contributed $3 million to the 2002 election campaign of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a violation of electoral law, a leading news magazine reported on Saturday. The charges could reignite a government corruption scandal that the president had appeared to be putting behind him in recent weeks. Lula's campaign received the money in August and September 2002 through a Cuban diplomat stationed in Brazil, Veja magazine said in its latest issue. Lula, an old friend of Cuban President Fidel Castro, won the election in October that year. It was his fourth...

BRASILIA, Brazil - Impeachment proceedings began Wednesday against a federal legislator — a former top Cabinet official — in connection with a bribery scandal that has rocked President Luiz Inacio da Silva's Workers' Party, which prided itself on its ethical behavior. Rep. Jose Dirceu, who stepped down as Silva's chief of staff and returned to his seat in Congress in June, stands accused of overseeing an alleged scheme where the government paid lawmakers for their support on key votes. Dirceu again proclaimed his innocence Wednesday, saying "I'm going to defend myself, because I committed no crime." Dirceu has a week...

His voice hoarse, his arms waving, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a cheering crowd that Brazil's "elites" would not break him, that he had learned from his poor, illiterate parents not to lie or to steal. "With a lot of sacrifice, I earned the right to hold my head up high," he told an applauding oil workers union. Silva, a former union boss elected in a landslide with pledges to make Brazil a "decent country," is back on the campaign trail. But this time it's to save his presidency from corruption charges, regain the trust of voters —...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - His voice hoarse, his arms waving, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a cheering crowd that Brazil's "elites" would not break him, that he had learned from his poor, illiterate parents not to lie or to steal. "With a lot of sacrifice, I earned the right to hold my head up high," he told an applauding oil workers union. Silva, a former union boss elected in a landslide with pledges to make Brazil a "decent country," is back on the campaign trail. But this time it's to save his presidency from corruption charges,...

LulaWatchFocusing on the Latin American Left"The Lula government, as we knew it, is over." This is how an Epoca magazine editorial summarized Brazil's current political crisis. This undeniably serious crisis raises many questions about the future of the president and his administration.Veja magazine says that "Lula is trying to save the government and his legacy" while several members of the government are calling this time a "period of political agitation" in a climate of apprehension and instability.Until recently, this crisis seemed to have peaked with the resignation of the president's chief of staff, José Dirceu, usually seen as the government's...

The Carnival has come early this year because of the political scandals of Lula's government. You can see Lula and his friends singing YMCA from Village People in this cartoon: http://charges.uol.com.br/vercharge.php?idcharge=1786&modo=som It is very funny! Read more about the scandals of Lula's goverment: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southamerica/article_1032320.php/Brazilian_corruption_scandal_threatens_Lula http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/20/AR2005062001426.html http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/New_denunciations_of_Brazilian_deputy_and_evidence_make_things_difficult_for_Lula

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - The head of Brazil's ruling Workers' Party resigned on Saturday amid a snowballing political scandal that is likely to hurt President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's re-election chances next year. The worst political crisis in Brazil at least since Lula took over in January 2003 involves accusations that the president's Workers' Party bribed lawmakers for their support. Brazilian magazines have published reports over the past week saying Workers' Party head Jose Genoino co-signed two loans that also had the signature of Marcos Valerio, an advertising executive whose firm does a large amount of government business....

On June 30, in Brazil, deputy Roberto Jefferson testified to deputies and senators of a Commission that is investigating the alleged Post Office Service scandal. Jefferson's testimony along with new evidence supporting his testimony are putting the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a difficult situation. (...) According to Jefferson, the President of the Worker's Party José Genuino, former Minister José Dirceu, Secretary-General Sílvio Pereira, and Treasurer Delúbio Soares, head a widespread national corruption scheme which involves the Workers Party, members of the Government, the Brazilian Agency of Intelligence, and both government and private enterprises. (...) During...

On June 30, in Brazil, deputy Roberto Jefferson testified to deputies and senators of a Commission that is investigating the alleged Post Office Service scandal. Jefferson's testimony along with new evidence supporting his testimony are putting the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a difficult situation. (...) According to Jefferson, the President of the Worker's Party José Genuino, former Minister José Dirceu, Secretary-General Sílvio Pereira, and Treasurer Delúbio Soares, head a widespread national corruption scheme which involves the Workers Party, members of the Government, the Brazilian Agency of Intelligence, and both government and private enterprises. (...) During...

President Lula da Silva's great political weapon has been his double-dealing in both domestic and foreign policies. While appearing to be moderate and "pragmatic," he actually pursues his political plans of progressive radicalization. Analyzing his speeches to leftist grassroots, Pres. Lula da Silva never renounces or distances himself from his goals (even his most radical ones) but only appeals for "patience," anticipating a moment when he can implement his stronger socialist agenda. In a recent speech at the World Social Forum, Lula defined himself as a persevering man who prefers to take several small steps rather than one large one....

José Dirceu yesterday resigned as chief of staff in President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's left-leaning government amid allegations his ruling Workers' party bribed legislators for support. The leader of the PTB party, a key government ally, has accused Mr Dirceu of involvement in the alleged bribery scheme that has shaken financial markets. Mr Dirceu said he would return to his post as deputy in the lower house of Congress to clarify "unfounded accusations" against him and his party. "I will mobilise the [Workers' party] to combat those who want to destabilise the Lula government," he said. Mr Dirceu is...

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - The politician who accused Brazil's governing party of paying bribes to win votes testified before Congress Tuesday that top presidential aides knew about the payoffs. Workers Party officials distributed cash to congressmen, "often arriving at predetermined locations with two huge suitcases full of cash," said Rep. Roberto Jefferson. Jefferson, leader of Brazil's Labor Party, said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff and finance minister were aware of the bribes but did nothing to stop them. The monthly "allowances" of more than $12,000 came to an end after Jefferson said he informed Silva,...

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in a severe political crisis. The crisis began after the exposure of a series of scandals which involve the Workers' Party, the Brazilian ruling party. In 2002, Celso Daniel, the mayor of Santo André, 10 km (6 miles) away from the São Paulo city, was murdered. Daniel was a member of the ruling Workers' Party. The mayor's brother says that Daniel died because he was in disagreement to a supposed bribe conspiracy organized by some Workers' Party members. The case remains under investigation by police. In 2004, the former...

The South America-Arab Summit by Heitor De Paola on may, 13, 2005 Brief: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an irate critic of the U.S., in addressing the gathering, called for the creation of an Arab-Latin American Front to "challenge the Empire". © 2005 MidiaSemMascara.org It would not be democratic if we attempted, in a plural document such as this Declaration, to conceptualize democracy the way we understand it without considering other cultures’ meanings of the term President Lula da Silva A Threat to Democracies and to the Fight against Terrorism This week Brazilian Capital was the stage for an unprecedented summit...