Beautiful Horizons

Nailed It

I believe that of all the analyses of Lula's career, this one may be the best and most judicious.

Hat tip to Matt Yglesias.

Brazil on 60 Minutes

I'm truly stunned that the most popular news magazine program in this country would actually do a segment on Latin America that doesn't involve coups, natural disasters, drugs or disease, so I'm generally pleased to see this segment on 60 Minutes focusing on Brazil:

 

I largely agree with the report regarding the infrastructure and the issue on training workers, but disagree with Eduardo Bueno, the historian/journalist/commentator, who seemed eager to generate old stereotypes about Brazil that seem more rooted in a carioca mentality, than say, one from Parana, Minas Gerais or Sao Paulo (yes, I know Bueno is from Rio Grande do Sul). There are plenty of serious, hardworking, dedictaed Brazilians. Now may very well be their time.

Another Election

Dilma Rousseff has been elected Brazil's first woman president and vows to continue the policies of her predecessor, Lula.

This largely spells the end to Jose Serra's political career. He has now lost two elections for president and I think that his party, the PSDB, is going to look elsewhere to run against Ms. Rousseff in 2014; a likely candidate being Aécio Neves, the governor of the state of Minas Gerais, the grandson of former president, Tancredo Neves, who died before taking office and is firmly in the tradition of canny politicians from Minas Gerais. Neves has just been elected senator.

This is worth noting, however:

Mr. [outgoing President Lula] da Silva has praised Ms. Rousseff’s administrative credentials as more than sufficient to lead Brazil. But her lack of sway in the Workers Party could hamper her, analysts said.

Ms. Rousseff “is much more of a hostage to the party than Lula was,” said Denis Rosenfield, a political analyst at Rio Grande do Sul Federal University. The result, he said, could be that the more left-leaning arm of the party seeks to “radicalize her positions.”

If Ms. Rousseff looks weak in four years, do not be surprised to see Lula reappear on the political scene. I've always felt that he is bigger than the party he created and his current approval rating is 83%. Those are numbers of which most politicians can dream.

Good God Part IV

Boz tips me to the fact that Tiririca, arguably one of the most annoying personas to appear on television in Brazil, not only was elected a Federal Deputy (equivalent to US Congress), but received more votes than anyone else.

Most of my experience with Tiririca has been to see his antics on television in Brazil and his borderline racist rant Veja O Cabelo Dela (Look at Her Hair), in which he sings of a woman whose hair resembles steel wool, refuses to bathe and smells worse than a skunk.

Notwithstanding the possibility that he's illiterate which may disqaulify him for office, I would imagine given his career success, that should be interested in learning to read, it would be no problem for him to do so, unlike someone poor whose work leaves him with precious time to do so. I wouldn't be surprised if it were part of his persona.

I have to disagree with Boz, by the way. Requiring literacy for office holders isn't any more discriminatory than minimum age requirements for example. Indeed, the necessity of being able to write legislation as well as read it is of paramount importance to legislators.

This is embarrassing - at least according to my Brazilian family. One hopes he'll do the right thing and realize that there are far to many clowns in office in Brazil.

Brazil Vote Heading for a Runoff

Although Dilma Rousseff has garnered more votes than Jose Serra, there will be a runoff in Brazil's presidential election as she failed to get a clear majority of the votes. There will be a runoff on October 31.

I'll have some more thoughts on Dilma and Lula tomorrow.

Education in Brazil

I was out of town last weekend and am just getting around to reading this article in last Saturday's  New York Times about education in Brazil. Some points worth mentioning:

• Public libraries are rare and underfunded. Indeed, while I have never looked for them in Brazil, the only places I can remember seeing them is in Rio de Janeiro and the famous Farois da Sabedoria (Lighthouses of Knowledge) in Curitiba. I'm sure that small towns such as Caetes (the town featured in the article probably have no library. The funding simply isn't there.
• So, why not buy books? Books are very expensive in Brazil; expensive to the point of being out of reach for those who need to read the most. In addition, television, just like in the US, offers a significantly cheaper entertainment alternative. Given the massive market penetration of a network such as Globo - some 70 to 80% of the nation's  television audience - it's virtually impossible for books to compete.
• In addition, and this is a particular problem in my opinion, when it comes to higher education, among the best universities are the State and Federal University systems. If a potential student scores well enough on tests known as vestibulares, they can attend one of these universities for free. There is no means testing for this, so if your family is wealthy, you still attend for free.
• The problem is exacerbated by a mini-industry that has developed of preparation for these tests. Of course if one has the means to prepare for the vestibular, the investment is worth it if one the qualifies for a free education. If you don't have the money for this sort of preparation, then you're already at a disadvantage as failure to qualify for a place in the free public universities, leaves a private school with expensive tuition as the only alternative to my knowledge.

I'm glad to see the issue getting attention. I'm looking forward to seeing some solutions.

50 Years of Brasilia

Mr. Trend is enthusiastic about Brasilia's 50th anniversary. I, alas, am not. I find the city to be unpleasant, impersonal, even downright Stalinist in its appearance.

It's a place in my mind utterly devoid of charm and a monument to the automobile. It is also a symbol of wasteful spending. There were no roads from the coast to the construction site, so building materials were brought in by helicopter. Even Oscar Niemeyer, the architect who designed the buildings is disappointed with what it has become.

It was wastefully expensive, but I suppose it's one of those places worth visiting once in your life. I have and have little desire to repeat the experience.

Disgracing Yourself

I have to agree with Greg, here: Lula is doing himself no favors with his feet of clay on this issue.

it's All in the Timing

Boz asks some good questions about Brazil and Lula:

Is it Brazil? Or is it Lula? Does Brazil get this seat because they are a rising regional and global power with real political, economic and diplomatic influence? Or does Lula sit there because he's a global rockstar, someone whose sheer personal presence seems to be a force on the international diplomatic stage?

Yes, Brazil now has real political, economic and diplomatic influence. For years Brazil has had the canniest diplomatics in Latin America, if not the entire hemisphere. The economic credibility started to come into focus when inflation was successfully tamed in the 1990's and has been generally improving since, with an occasional hiccup. The current decade has been about the best and Lula's leadership is a significant part of the reason.

The political influence has developed as a result of the improved economic influence as well as Lula's ability to deal successfully with leaders across the political spectrum.

So the short answer is probably all of the above.

Idiocy From the Times

I am not familiar with Dilma Rouseff, Lula's Chief of Staff profiled here in Sunday's New York Times. Her predecessor, Jose Dirceu, a shrewd, albeit slimy political operative was more visible and got more attention, even before his resignation under allegations of vote buying.

Nevertheless, while I believe that there is legitimate concern about her running for president under the PT banner with a cancerous tumor just having been remived from her chest, there is an underlying core of idiocy in this article and I think it is a classic example of Alexei Barrionuevo's poor journalism.