Re: [Marxism] Ex-Trotskyist steers Brazil's shift toward neoliberalism

["acpollack2@xxxxxxxx" <acpollack2@xxxxxxxx>]

Yesterday (actually late the night before) I saw the BBC article about Lula's 
bourgeois partners deserting his government, and haven't seen it anywhere else, 
which is weird considering it seems like a huge blow to his pop front project, 
and has major implications for his critics.
(for a review of the critique of his pop frontism and left PT capitulation to 
it, see
http://www.laborstandard.org/New_Postings/Brazil_by_Johnson.htm)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4090907.stm

Political blow for Brazil's Lula
By Steve Kingstone
BBC correspondent in Sao Paulo

Brazil's president has suffered a significant political setback with the 
withdrawal of two parties from his governing coalition.
The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party has voted to end its two-year alliance 
with the president's Workers' Party.

The decision, on Sunday, came a day after the Popular Socialist Party also 
decided to break with the government.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been left weakened as he tries to push his reform 
agenda through Brazil's parliament.


Complicated calculation

President Lula could have lived with the desertion of the Popular Socialist 
Party but losing the much larger Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) is 
much more serious.

It runs more local councils than any other party in Brazil and, in parliament, 
only Lula's Workers' Party (PT) has more lawmakers.

On Sunday, rank and file PMDB members voted by a large majority to cut links 
with the government - a move that will mean giving up two cabinet posts.

They also voted to field their own candidate for president in two years' time 
rather than give their backing to Lula as he seeks re-election.

Their main criticism of the president is that so far he has failed to deliver 
on social policy.

It is possible that some PMDB lawmakers will choose to leave the party and 
remain within the governing coalition.

There are also some who say Sunday's vote was illegal under party rules.

But even so, it looks as if Lula has lost an important partner and, with key 
votes ahead on financial and judicial reform, the arithmetic for the government 
is suddenly looking a lot more complicated.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4090907.stm

Published: 2004/12/13 04:34:52 GMT

© BBC MMIV


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