Free Republic

Ecuador aligns itself with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba In speeches against imperialism and neoliberalism, the presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and Bolivia, Evo Morales, and the Ecuadoran President-Elect Rafael Correa, who should assume the government of his country Monday, expressed common ideological and political agreement Sunday. Chavez, Morales, and Correa, who also exalt the figure of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, met together in Zumbahua, an indigenous [Ecuadoran] locality 90 kilometers south of Quito, for a symbolic inauguration of Correa before the indigenous peoples [of Ecuador]. In a speech before a multitude congregated in the central plaza, Correa emphasized that "[Latin]...

Brazilian President Lula da Silva urged unions and workers on Monday to take advantage of the global financial crisis to help forge a new world economic order. He also criticized multilateral organizations for having no plans to address the current global crisis. Add to Delicious Add to Digg Add to Facebook Add to Google Add to Reddit Add to Stumbleupon Add to Technorati Add to Yahoo Decrease font Increase font PrintShareComment The Brazilian president said it was time to end with “paper” speculation "I address myself now to the labour leaders" Lula da Silva told a global jobs summit at...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived in China for a visit. Strange as it may seem, there can be hardly any information found about the visit, which takes place on May 18-20. It brings up the idea that South America is working on an alliance with Asia’s largest states. It is not ruled out that China may eventually strengthen its influence near the borders of the United States and even set up Chinese army bases in the region. Brazil, the largest country of Latin America, suffered political and economic cataclysms during the 1990s just like the USSR. The...

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said the world's poor people should not be forced to pay for the global financial crisis. President Lula said white, blue-eyed people - not Indians, nor black, nor poor people - had created and spread the crisis throughout the world.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes. Speaking in Brasília at a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, Mr Lula da Silva told reporters: “This crisis was caused by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing.”

The leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa have criticized rich countries for failing to act quickly to prevent the global financial meltdown. At a summit in New Delhi, they urged Western nations to manage the crisis in a manner that will not hurt their developing economies. Anjana Pasricha has a report from the Indian capital. After the leaders of India, South Africa and Brazil wrapped up a summit in New Delhi Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed fears that developing countries will not escape if the West is hit by a deep recession triggered by the...

MANAUS, Brazil, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Latin America's leftist leaders on Tuesday accused the United States of "irresponsibility" in its handling of the financial crisis that has pummeled markets and threatens economies around the world. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the crisis over credit could slow economic growth across Latin America and took a stab at Washington, predicting that U.S. economic power is in dramatic decline. "This crash of capitalism and of neoliberalism will be worse than that of 1929," Chavez told reporters at a meeting with the leaders of Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador in Brazil's Amazon city of Manaus....

Chávez lashes out at Mexico On the same day the Calderón administration took steps to ease rocky relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez on Thursday hurled personal insults at his Mexican counterpart Wire reports El Universal Viernes 02 de febrero de 2007 On the same day the Calderón administration took steps to ease rocky relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez on Thursday hurled personal insults at his Mexican counterpart. Chávez´s ire was raised as he attacked Calderón for comments the latter made in Davos, Switzerland, last week criticizing countries that "nationalize industries" and "interfere in the...

The British Prime Minister and the Brazilian President write for Times Online on two nations committed to working togetherIt is a commonplace to say that our globalising world needs international co-operation more than ever before. But actually we also need a shared understanding and a shared vision.Three weeks ago during the Progressive Governance Summit hosted by Thabo Mbeki, our meeting underlined once again that, to both of us, progressive governance isn’t just about sharing experiences on the domestic front. It is also about a shared approach to international challenges.We must ensure that the benefits of globalisation are felt by the...

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...

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva is immersed in a seemingly endless corruption scandal; his once larger-than-life reputation has been reduced to tatters. The significance of this is not negligible: Lula has become an emblem of the post-Cold War left with his combination of conservative fiscal and monetary policies and big social programs targeting the poor. A breathtaking sequence of revelations involving the government and Lula’s Workers’ Party—beginning with the confession by opposition legislator Roberto Jefferson that he had received bribes for his vote in Congress—has brought to the surface a vast scheme of bribes to legislators and irregular methods of...

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...

Brazil has plans to build seven nuclear power plants reported Sunday the Sao Paulo press quoting government officials. The country currently has two nuclear power plants in operation and the major expansion is contemplated under the new Brazilian Nuclear Program (PNB), which the government is reviewing. President Lula da Silva officials told newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo that the government considers the new nuclear plants essential to expanding Brazil's role as a player on the world stage and bolstering its bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. PNB is currently under a coordinated review...

For the past three years, an annual conference called the World Social Forum has been the biggest international gathering of radicals on earth, attended by all the leaders of the world left. Labor unions, Communist parties, non-governmental organizations, anti-globalization activists, anti-American 'peace' groups, multiple heads of state, and the representatives of armed guerilla insurgencies all gather yearly at Porto Alegre, Brazil, to make new connections and plan for the future. While the organizers of the World Social Forum claim the event is a "open meeting place" for those interested in building "a planetary society centered on the human person,"...

<p>Lula's Approval Rating Drops to Record Low on Jobless (Update1) June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's approval ratings fell to a record low in June as voters held him responsible for failing to meet campaign pledges to reduce unemployment.</p>

<p>Brazil's Lula, Losing Support at Home, Seeks Recovery in China May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is taking more than 400 executives to China to help spur exports, seeking to pull South America's largest country out of its worst recession in 11 years.</p>

BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil on Sunday condemned as slanderous a New York Times article about the drinking habits of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.``The Brazilian government will study the appropriate measures to defend the honor of the president of the republic and the image of Brazil overseas,'' presidential spokesman Andre Singer said in a statement.The article in the Sunday New York Times said ``some of his countrymen have begun wondering if their president's predilection for strong drink is affecting his performance in office.''But Singer said Lula's social habits were ``moderate and not at all different from those of...

RASÍLIA - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has never hidden his fondness for a glass of beer, a shot of whiskey or, even better, a slug of cachaça, Brazil's potent sugar-cane liquor. But some of his countrymen have begun wondering if their president's predilection for strong drink is affecting his performance in office.In recent months, Mr. da Silva's left-leaning government has been assailed by one crisis after another, ranging from a corruption scandal to the failure of crucial social programs. The president has often stayed out of the public eye and left his advisers to do most of the heavy...

Brazil considers inadmissible a US proposal that the Brazilian government signs an additional protocol on nuclear energy. José Luiz Santana, a nuclear scientist and professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro says that the US idea contains conditions that violate Brazilians' citizenship. Brazil can negotiate, but it will decide as a sovereign country the terms of a possible additional agreement for international inspections of Brazilian uranium enrichment facilities. That was the message to the world from Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, during a public hearing at Brazil's House of Representatives. "This issue of accepting the additional protocol has...

When the U.S. was attacked by Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, Brazil’s president at the time, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, immediately invoked the Rio Treaty – a pillar of the Inter-American system upon which the Organization of American States was founded. It has a simple and important premise: if any member country in the Americas is attacked militarily by an outside force, that constitutes an attack on all member states. Brazil stood firmly by the United States after the 9/11 attacks. But times have changed. President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim is now attempting to remove...

There has been a sharp increase in the number of illegal farm seizures by landless peasants in Brazil. Across the country, more than 50 properties have been invaded since mid-March by rural people who want the government to speed up land reform. The governing Workers Party has traditionally been seen as an ally of the agrarian Movement, or MST. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has vowed to help the landless, now finds himself in an awkward position. He has announced plans to resettle more than 100,000 landless families this year - but the MST says the pace...

<p>Lula's Effort to Cut Deficit Threatened by Unions (Update2) April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's effort to reduce the government's budget deficit is threatened by union demands for higher wages, economists such as CreditSights Inc.'s Christian Stracke said.</p>

Landless movements throughout Brazil have launched a wave of protests and illegal property invasions to pressure the left-leaning government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president, to accelerate land reform. During the past fortnight, the MST or Landless Workers' Movement, the largest of the landless movements, invaded more than 40 rural properties, including the Veracel tree plantation in southern Bahia state, which is half-owned by Stora-Enso, the Swedish-Finnish paper company. Thousands of protesters there converted 25 hectares of tree saplings into vegetable gardens. "It's a very bad sign for investors. The government can't lose control like this," Vitor Costa,...

<p>Lula, Facing Drop in Polls, Vows to Maintain Policies (Update3) March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, facing a drop in approval ratings for failing to revive economic growth, said he will stick with his policies of fighting inflation and controlling spending in a bid to keep South America's largest economy from defaulting on its debts.</p>

The Brazilian president spent the end of 2003 in the Middle East on a journey that Veja magazine called “Lula’s tour of dictatorships.” Presidential aides called his itinerary – which included several dictatorships and even regimes suspected of supporting terrorism – “historic.” Moreover, it represented an “audacious policy” that provided an “alternative” to the American agenda. Consistent with the crafty attitudes that have characterized the Lula da Silva administration, Brazilian foreign policymakers said the primary purpose of the trip was to develop trade relations. However, after only a few days, several publications saw through this claim and said the trip’s...

<p>Brazil Lula's Approval Rating Drops to Record Low (Update3) Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's approval rating dropped to a record low 40 percent after the former union leader held back spending for a second year, alienating voters who had counted on him to help create jobs and boost funding for social programs.</p>

BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil's president carried out a sweeping Cabinet overhaul Friday to make room for a new coalition partner as he pushes his legislative agenda. By reserving two seats in the 32-member Cabinet for the powerful Brazilian (news - web sites) Democratic Movement, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a commitment from that party to support him in Congress. Silva needed extra help to pass his 2004 legislative program, which includes a renewed emphasis on fighting poverty and ambitious reforms of electoral, court and labor laws. Until now the president's seven-party coalition, led by Silva's Workers' Party, had...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday his country was forging an alliance with Argentina and Brazil to lead Latin America's opposition to U.S. free trade plans for the region. "Clearly, an axis can be seen ... -- and it's not an axis of evil as some people say -- .. that passes from Caracas, through Brasilia and reaches Buenos Aires," the left-wing Venezuelan leader said in a state of the nation speech to parliament. Chavez spoke a day after returning from a summit of regional leaders in Monterrey, Mexico in which he, President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina and Brazilian...

The first anniversary of Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva's Brazilian presidency has just passed but financial markets are still celebrating the fact that he was quick to embrace fiscal orthodoxy rather than move in a populist direction, as they feared before his election.Over the past year, Mr. Lula da Silva has been amply rewarded in the markets for his policy prudence. Brazil's borrowing costs have fallen dramatically to levels last seen in the halcyon days preceding the 1998 Russian crisis. However, while there is much reason for him to rejoice on his first anniversary, Brazil's lack of economic growth suggests...

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - President Bush told Latin Americans on Monday they had a "God-given right" to freedom in a sharp attack on Cuba's Fidel Castro and other rivals in a region where anti-U.S. sentiment is rising. Bush patched up his friendship with Mexican President Vicente Fox earlier on Monday after a year of disputes over the Iraq war, but he had only stern words for other Latin American leaders who have fallen foul of Washington. Speaking at a 34-nation summit of leaders across the Americas, Bush singled out Cuban President Fidel Castro for his toughest condemnation. "Through our democratic...

For nearly five decades the left has been trying to impose a socialist and confiscatory land reform on Brazil. From the beginning, the so-called Catholic left, and particularly the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB), has been the leading proponents and the most important driving force of that policy. With strong links to this Catholic left, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made land reform one of its main goals. For this purpose it designated Miguel Rossetto from the Workers Party's most radical wing as the Minister of Land Reform. The party also gave the government posts...

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday accused the Israeli government of following "the policies of escalation and extremism," making the Middle East a more dangerous place.In a speech at a banquet honoring Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Assad turned to Syria's recurring theme that Israel and its occupation of war-conquered Arab lands were at the core of Palestinian-Israeli violence and turmoil throughout the region. Assad accused Israel of rejecting an Arab willingness to make peace. He claimed that tension throughout the region was due to "the policies of escalation and extremism the Israeli government...

The leftist ideological profile of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration, so skillfully toned down during his election campaign, is now emerging with ever greater clarity. This can be seen in the leftist political bills and projects announced and set in motion with every passing day. A recurring tactic is also becoming clear: employ a heavy dose of ambiguity and even double-dealing disguising leftist intent and cover it with confused formulas and slogans. When ideological intentions are laid bare, immediately come up with explanations that explain nothing and blame everything on “misunderstandings.” Foreign policy is one area where the...

WINDHOEK, Namibia (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's efforts to befriend Africa hit a jarring note when he praised Namibia's capital city as being so clean it didn't seem African. Lula, who presents himself as a champion of the world's poor, was speaking Friday in Windhoek on the fourth leg of an African tour. "I'm surprised because if you arrive in Windhoek, it doesn't seem like you're in an African country. Few cities of the world are so clean and beautiful as Windhoek," said Lula, flanked by Namibian President, Sam Nujoma, as he said farewell to the...

Brazil’s March to Socialism Gains Impetus with the Decisive Support of the “Catholic Left”A “smoke screen” of confusion in present-day Brazil masks revolutionary agitation and especially the destabilizing action of the “Catholic left” “Perhaps the greatest challenge facing our government over the next few years is getting Brazil to occupy her place in the world. However, for Brazil to take her place in the world, our people must occupy their place in Brazil. This can only happen through a great social transformation, a true social revolution. I am not afraid to say this word. We owe our people a true...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva departed Cuba, after visiting with his old pal Fidel Castro and working to increase business ties between their two countries. Lula, Latin America's most influential democratically elected leftist leader, arrived in Havana for a 30-hour visit on Friday. The trip also helps break Castro's increasing diplomatic isolation. The Brazilian leader is arguably the most important head of state to visit Cuba since Mexico's President Vicente Fox in February 2002. "Everything went very well. It was the best visit that we've ever had," gushed Castro as he bade farewell to Lula at the Havana...

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South America's new pragmatic democratic leader, will have to dance a political tango when he steps on Cuban soil today for a visit with his longtime comrade in the Western Hemisphere's only remaining communist nation. Armed with a $400 million line of credit and accompanied by an entourage of high-level Cabinet members and some 40 business executives, da Silva is expected to sign new deals with Cuba that will further advance Brazil's effort as a serious player in the economic trading field. CLOSELY WATCHED But as he meets President Fidel Castro and participates...

After secret debates in the inner circles of the Brazilian government, the decision seems to have been reached: on September 26 President Lula, after participating in a meeting of the UN, will make another trip to the island prison, this time as President of Brazil. It is a step characterized in the presidential entourage as "controversial" and politically risky, as revealed by the well informed columnist Dora Kramer, of the newspaper Jornal do Brasil. She adds that one of the purposes of the trip, according to its defenders - Lula, the chancellor Amorim and the minister José Dirceu, a...

(AP Photo/Richard Drew) Let my first words before this World Parliament be of confidence in the human capacity to overcome challenges and to move towards higher forms of partnership, both within and among nations. On behalf of the Brazilian people I reaffirm our belief in the United Nations. Its role in promoting peace and social justice remains irreplaceable. I pay tribute to Secretary General Kofi Annan, for the leadership he has shown in defense of a world united through respect for international law and solidarity among nations. This Assembly convenes under the impact of the brutal attack on the United...

The ambiguous - not to say complicit - attitude of the Lula da Silva administration vis-a-vis the recent crackdown on Cuban dissidents by Fidel Castro’s tyrannical government has had a profound impact in the United States. Castro imprisoned 75 opponents and had three men who tried to flee the island executed by firing squad. The Workers’ Party (PT) government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again displayed its duplicity and ideological compromise with leftist and dictatorial regimes. It also made clear its unstated but real desire to work for a politico-social destabilization of Latin America, which it sees as...

The main program of President Lula da Silva in Brazil, Fome Zero (Famine Zero), superficially proposes to reduce the hunger and the misery of approximately 15 million out of 170 million Brazilians. During his first hundred days in office, President Lula drew the nation into this program. TV stars, non-governmental entities, journalists and entrepreneurs showed interest in collaborating with Lula -- sometimes donating, sometimes offering themselves as volunteers for his propaganda. Despite the raging controversy over the effectiveness of the distribution of food to the poor, mainly to people who live in the Brazilian Northeast, the intentions of Lula da...

The attitude of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) and his cabinet regarding the Iraq conflict revealed once again the ambiguity that characterizes the present Brazilian administration. However, ambiguity might not be the proper term. It would perhaps be more appropriate to speak of a deft masking of the leftist ideological line that inspires the Workers’ Party (PT) administration. The PT remains faithful to the principles that always have and continue to orient it. Also noteworthy is the ever-present influence of Liberation Theology in the present government. This ideological alignment is a driving force behind opposition to the U.S.-led...

PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL - Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had a message Sunday for the world's political and business leaders meeting Davos, Switzerland, at the annual World Economic Forum. "It is absolutely necessary to build the world economic order to meet the demands of billions of people who live at the margins," Mr. da Silva said, urging rich countries to declare "war on hunger." This call for attention to social issues is not surprising coming from a former union leader and socialist. But the fact that he would be making it to the world's elite on an international...

Closing of the polling stations in Brazil Sunday October 06, 2002 - 21h04 GMT BRASILIA, Oct. 6 (AFP) - the polling stations closed their local doors with 17H00 (20H00 GMT) in all Brazil, except in six Amazonian States because of the time shift, announced the electoral higher Court (TSE). However, the voters who presented themselves before 17H00 local in their polling station and did not have time to take part in the poll received a sequence number to guarantee the voting rights to them. That will delay the diffusion of the first estimates of exit of the ballot boxes,...

Despite the oft-expressed misconception that communism died with a wimper in the bloodless revolutions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in 1989-1991, today communism is making somewhat of a comeback in much of the world to the point that approximately one and three-quarter billion people live under communism, renamed Communist Party or Marxist-Leninist control today. While the People’s Republic of China has taken up the USSR’s old role as the communist motherland, other notable still-formally-communist states include North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and Cuba. Myanmar is ruled by a military junta, which espouses Marxist-Leninism and has closely aligned...