A Leftist Takes Over in Brazil and Pledges a 'New Path'

uploaded 03 Jan 2003

Latin America's largest nation embarked on an ambitious political and social experiment today, as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leader of the left-wing Workers Party and a former lathe operator and labor union leader, was inaugurated here as president of Brazil, promising "a new style of government" and a crusade against hunger, injustice and corruption.

"The time has come to tread a new path," Mr. da Silva declared in his inaugural address, arguing that Brazil's progress had been stalled by what he called the "economic, social and moral impasse" of a system based on self-interest.

"Yes, we are going to change things, with courage and care, humility and daring," he added. On at least two counts, Brazilian history offers no precedent for the rise to power of Mr. da Silva, who has only a grade school education, lost part of a finger in a factory accident and, as he recalled in his address, sold peanuts on the streets as a child to help his divorced mother make ends meet. He is the first member of the working class to become president here and the first candidate of a left-wing party to win a presidential vote.

Mr. da Silva gained a landslide victory in October, receiving more than 52 million votes in his fourth attempt at the presidency, by running on a platform that promised Brazil's 175 million people better times after nearly a decade of austerity. He sounded that theme again today, saying that "creating jobs is going to be my obsession" and that "it is absolutely necessary that this country return to growth."

The new president has credited his resounding triumph to rejection of the free market policies of his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

The change of guard has delighted and reinvigorated the Latin American left, as was evident from the foreign labor and political delegations that were waving Argentine, Uruguayan, Ecuadorean and Peruvian flags as they mixed with ordinary Brazilians along the parade route.

World leaders attending ranged from President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa to the Prince of Asturias, heir to the Spanish throne. But the two heads of state who drew the most attention and applause were Fidel Castro of Cuba and the embattled president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, who recently invited Mr. da Silva to join him and Mr. Castro in what he called a Latin American "axis of good."

In what was regarded here as a calculated snub, Robert B. Zoellick, the United States trade representative, led the American delegation. During the recent campaign, Mr. da Silva sarcastically dismissed Mr. Zoellick as "the subsecretary of a subsecretary of a subsecretary" after the American official suggested that Brazil would be reduced to exporting to Antarctica if it shunned the Bush administration's plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas.

"It's natural that the American president wouldn't come to Brazil on this date," José Genoino, president of the Workers Party, complained in a newspaper interview Monday. "But he could have sent a representative with more weight. But never mind. That's how the Americans are."

Mr. da Silva's only direct reference today to relations with the United States was to call for "a mature partnership" between the hemisphere's two most populous nations. But he indirectly criticized the Bush administration twice, arguing that "crises like those in the Middle East should be resolved peacefully and through negotiations," and complaining of subsidies and tariffs that undercut Brazil's ability to export agricultural products.

One of Mr. da Silva's campaign slogans was that "hope vanquishes fear," and the optimism and enthusiasm that his victory engendered was amply on display. As Mr. da Silva, 57, rode to his inauguration in a Rolls-Royce, onlookers climbed trees to cheer him and broke through an official honor guard on horseback, with one person even jumping into the car to embrace and kiss Mr. da Silva.

The vast esplanade in front of the congress building where Mr. da Silva took his oath looked like a giant tail-gate party, with tens of thousands of the new president's supporters gathering to sing, dance, eat and drink. Some were camped out in tents after traveling for days to take part in the celebration, while others have been living out of cars, trucks or buses.

Many followers, often dressed in red T-shirts or berets, carried the Workers Party's red flag with white star or banners recalling Mr. da Silva's humble origins. One cartoon placard showed three contrasting images of him: the first with a cheap suitcase recalling his peasant family's migration from the poor northeast, the second with him holding a wrench to symbolize his years as a factory worker, and the third with him wearing Brazil's presidential sash.

Kleber Gonzaga, 24, was part of a group of 14 college students from Mr. da Silva's home state of Pernambuco that rented a van and drove exactly 1,321 miles to see him sworn in. They missed a New Year's Eve party back home by leaving on Sunday, and the trip will cost each of them the equivalent of a month's salary, but they said that did not matter.

"It's not just that Lula is from the interior, like us, or that he, as a man of the people, has experienced in his own skin the same kind of problems and difficulties that we have," Mr. Gonzaga explained. "Most of us are social science majors, and we wanted to witness this historical moment so as to be able to tell our future students that we were there." www.khilafah.com