ur government will give preference to the poor” were Brazilian President Lula’s last words in his first press conference after the confirmation of his landslide re-election that swept away any doubt on how the majority of Brazil lived the first four-year term of the worker President. In our coverage of the election,
there are some facts and testimonies that alone, not excluding criticism and contradictions, can explain why, though not passing in the first round, the “worker President” (who has already confirmed the textile tycoon José Alencar as his deputy) obtained such a vast consensus.
His referral to the poor as a priority of the government, concrete also based on the ‘Zero Hunger’ and ‘Bolsa Familia’ projects conducted so far, is an ulterior explanation for his success. Brazil, as also a large part of the World’s South, though a nation rich with natural resources, is characterized by a serious unbalance between the few that have a lot and the many that have too little. An unbalance that tends to increase even in nations of the World’s North. And usually, save for rare, notable and noble exceptions, those who govern these nations do not appear to be too concerned. Not even in mere words.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, so rich with natural resources and so large in the heart of Africa (bordering with nine African states), despite the not far-off five years of war, the people demonstrated their capacity to remain calm and hope for a different and better future.
Lula in this regard represents an exception that, though in different ways, in recent times marked some precedents also in other Latin American nations. The former metal worker, often attacked by the left for not doing enough and from the right for doing too much, threatened by episodes of endemic corruption that nevertheless did not really affect him, appears to have molded and guaranteed a more equal social pacts than many other alleged great leaders of alleged great democracies. Could it be an end to the times of the “banana Republics”, at least in that Latin America labeled as such?
Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela and even Uruguay together present, though in different and at times disputable facets, the first clear outlining of a new continent that should even make some neighbors in the north (and other further away) die of shame for their preference of violence, systematic oppression of the rest of the world and any type of war aside from the only one reasonable today: that against hunger and poverty. Engaged in wasting and destroying resources and environment, instead of making a more reasonable use of such wealth.
A human and political strategy, that of Lula, which also in the Democratic Republic of Congo, so rich with natural resources and so large in the heart of Africa (bordering with nine African states), could and should be followed with success by whoever wins yesterday’s presidential runoff, in which once again, despite the not far-off five years of war, the people demonstrated their capacity to remain calm and hope for a different and better future. If also, like Lula, also the future President of ex-Zaire manages to contain instead of favoring the overwhelming international interference of non-advantageous relations with the World’s North, Kinshasa could become for Africa what Brasilia appears headed to become for Latin America: a beacon and stabilizing column.
Among the few images of the small “portfolio”, one depicts a joyful embrace between Lula - who focused much attention on Brazil-Africa relations – and South African President Thabo Mbeki. Would it really be absurd to think of a future embrace with who becomes president of DR-Congo? An image of fantasy, if nothing else exorcist for all those Cassandra’s and birds of bad omen that already predict serious unrest in the long wait for the official election results announced for late November...
(From MISNA)