:: The Rational Radical Blog ::

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Once Lula was a hero of the left - now they heckle him off stage

Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was heckled on the stage at the World Social Forum yesterday by the same international activists who hailed him as a saviour when he swept to office two years ago. The left-wing firebrand sat stony-faced on stage as he was booed before delivering the keynote address at the annual alternative gathering timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum at the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos.

...Mr Da Silva mounted a spirited defence of his first two years in office, saying Brazil is creating millions of jobs through a stabilised economy and becoming a strong political voice for the elimination of poverty from South America to Africa. His critics point out that average real wages in Brazil have dropped 6.1 per cent since he took office in January 2003 and the President has created only 2 per cent of the 250,000 jobs for young people that he promised by 2006.

Kind of a misleading headline, no? He wasn't heckled off the stage, according to the article. In any event, he's going to have to produce a lot more tangible results for the people inside Brazil or he's going to get booted out of office.

Jack Clark 9:59 PM [+]   
Post #110706474559955182