Brazil's Endgame?

[Judi Lynn]

Brazil's Endgame?

President Dilma Rousseff’s tenuous political situation reflects the victories of a conservative backlash that is threatening democratic institutions.

Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Marcelo K. Silva
03/24/2016

Last week, after what the Brazilian media reported was a four-hour dinner conversation, Lula da Silva agreed to formally join President Dilma Rousseff’s government as Chief of Staff – a ministerial-level appointment in Brazil. The decision to appoint the popular ex-president came just two days after massive, nationwide protests calling for Rousseff’s impeachment. The move has been interpreted by many analysts as a way for Dilma’s embattled Workers’ Party (PT) government to regain popular support.

Though a towering figure in Brazilian politics, the 70-year old, two-term former president has had a difficult few months. In addition to his own recent battle with cancer, Lula has found himself embroiled in the corruption accusations of the so-called Lava-Jato, or “Car Wash,” anti-corruption campaign. These accusations, which revolve around Lula’s ownership of a modest, two-bedroom beach apartment, led to the former president’s brief arrest and questioning by the police in early March. While Lula’s appointment as a minister in Rousseff’s government offers him some reprieve from those legal troubles – in Brazil, a sitting minister can only be tried by the country’s Supreme Court – it has also triggered a number of unexpected turns in what has quickly become a national political crisis.

The Return of Lula

It is difficult to overstate Lula’s importance in recent Brazilian history or the sheer power of his charisma. Lulismo­, the one-time trade union leader’s political style of leadership, is a recognized term in colloquial and academic language alike, referring to the unique ability to forge a reformist compromise that is both pro-poor and pro-growth. But if Lula’s return to public political life represented a ray of hope for Dilma’s beleaguered presidency, it also signaled a change in political direction for her administration.

In Brazilian politics, the government’s Chief of Staff is charged with forging and maintaining political alliances, both within Brazil’s National Congress, as well as with political and social movements outside the halls of government. In this regard, the position plays to Lula’s strengths as a politician and negotiator. And, at least at first, his appointment seemed likely to provide relief to Rousseff, who has found herself in a tenuous position – caught between elite class rage, on the one hand, and the PT’s increasingly disillusioned grassroots base, which opposed her government’s recent adoption of austerity measures to revive a sluggish economy, on the other.

More:
https://nacla.org/news/2016/03/24/brazil%27s-endgame

[villager]

1. Good read, thanks.

The forces of reaction mean to usurp everywhere.