BRAZIL: A tale of two presidents

www.greenleft.org.au BY ORLANDO SEPULVEDA

PORTO ALEGRE — Brazilian President Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva spoke to tens of thousands of people at the World Social Forum (WSF) on January 25. It was the first time that Lula, a former factory worker and union leader, addressed a mass audience of the left as leader of the biggest nation in Latin America.

There was a great deal of expectation about the speech — particularly after the announcement that Lula would then go on to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to meet the world's top political officials and corporate chiefs.

But in his speech at the WSF, a very cautious Lula explained to his followers that the times are tough — and that it would be practically impossible to comply with every one of the demands of the Brazilian people. “We have four long years to work”, Lula said. He claimed that he was going to Davos “to bring the voice of Porto Alegre to them".

Despite the fact that the WSF showed very clearly the widespread opposition to neoliberalism, the Washington-backed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) and George Bush's war on Iraq, Lula followed the same script in Davos as all new presidents who want to gain the favour of the big moneylenders. In his speech to the wealthy and powerful, he spoke of fiscal responsibility and greater openness to imports and foreign investment.

Two days later, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez came to Porto Alegre for an indoor rally at the city hall and a press conference. News of Chavez's visit spread like wildfire, with people attending the WSF anxious to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Venezuela.

Delegates understand that the workers and poor of Venezuela are suffering from a disruption of the oil industry by a bosses' “strike" backed the Bush administration. Many have organised solidarity activities, such as a Brazilian youth group that issued a statement opposing the bosses' strike and denouncing US imperialism.

Unfortunately, the WSF authorities didn't provide space for Chavez to speak to a mass demonstration. This would have been a great opportunity to show support for the Venezuelan people.

The close relationship between the organisers of the WSF and the Brazilian Workers Party, Lula's party, is responsible for this missed opportunity.

Lula was given the chance to speak to a mass meeting of the Latin American left to crown his career from trade union organiser to Brazilian president — and by extension, the new leader of Latin America. But now, as president, Lula wants to be seen as the leader of all Brazilians — including Brazilian capitalists. So he didn't make the kind of fiery speech that he's famous for — and WSF organisers apparently didn't want Chavez to upstage him.

Lula did provide emergency oil shipments to Venezuela during the bosses' strike. But he also tried to broker a deal with an international “group of friends" of Venezuela that included the US — even though Washington openly backed a coup attempt last April.

Chavez and Lula don't have fundamental differences in their approach to issues like the FTAA, the International Monetary Fund and neoliberalism. Chavez was unacceptable to the WSF organisers, who were afraid of giving away Lula's leadership. This approach deprived the Venezuelan people of a great opportunity to gain the kind of international solidarity that they urgently need.

[From Socialist Worker, weekly paper of the US International Socialist Organization. Visit www.socialistworker.org.]

From Green Left Weekly, February 5, 2003. Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.