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A former Marxist guerrilla who was tortured and imprisoned during Brazil's long dictatorship was elected Sunday as president of Latin America's biggest nation, a country in the midst of an economic and political rise.
A statement from the Supreme Electoral Court, which oversees elections, said governing party candidate Dilma Rousseff won the election. When she takes office Jan. 1, she will be Brazil's first female leader.
With 99 percent of the ballots counted, Rousseff had 55.6 percent compared to 44.4 percent for her centrist rival, Jose Serra, the electoral court said.
Source: MSNBC
For those who don't know Dilma is President Lula's hand-picked successor. So it seems the left-wing is still on a roll in South America.
Lula was insanely popular. 80+% popularity rating I believe.
Plus in most South American countries the legacy of US meddling has driven most people to the left, making it very hard for a right winger to get elected without "help".
I don't think it's just "US meddling" that has helped drive people to the left in Latin America. The utter ruthlessness of the right wing military dictatorships when they were in power is probably a factor.
Lula was insanely popular. 80+% popularity rating I believe.
Plus in most South American countries the legacy of US meddling has driven most people to the left, making it very hard for a right winger to get elected without "help".
One only has to look at the massive improvements in all of Brazilian society under Lula to see why his successor won this election. Socialism can work, and Lula has proved it.
Source: MSNBC
For those who don't know Dilma is President Lula's hand-picked successor. So it seems the left-wing is still on a roll in South America.
Well I wouldn't say that exactly. Brazil still faces a brazillian hurdles :2razz:
They could become a world force, but the trick is they have to get control of their own recources, now I'm not talking nessecarily about nationalization, though if the people are pushed too far by corporations thats exactly where it'll go.
But rather strict government enforcement of environmental protection clauses and making sure that their recources, specifically wood, is made into a renewable cycle.
Brazil has enourmous potential, but before it can be tapped into. Education, and social upheaval must be a priority. And thankfully, I think thats the route this government seems to be taking.
O certainly Brazil has a long way to go and will face some very importance questions soon and in the future, but its made some damn good progress and perhaps one of the most important things its accomplished is that its people believe in the future of their country. As opposed to the US for example where many many people believe this country is headed toward hell, pessimistic attitudes aren't productive. Course I'm part of that as well to a degree.
Brazil, the first South American country to be recorded for Street View, is notorious for its drug-related street violence and in 2007 - the most recent statistics available from the United Nations - there were 48,000 murders.
In 2010 the U.N. published a report into violent deaths in Brazil by an independent expert.
The document from Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, stated: 'When I visited the country two and a half years ago, I found that the police executed suspected criminals and innocent citizens during poorly planned and counter-productive war-style operations into favelas [shanty towns].
America is a Capitalist country. If your country is abused by another country that is mainly Capitalist, you probably wont be over-eager to pick up the strategy of your former antagonist. This pushes many South American countries to the left.What in the world does "US meddling" have to do with left-wing or right-wing politics?
We have a massive wealth disparity here, why are we not more left?The reason that South America tends to be left-wing is very simple: the HUGE amount of wealth disparity that exists there. Especially in Brazil, where you have glamorous gated mansions just a few blocks away from terrifying favelas with open sewers and no electricity.
America is a Capitalist country. If your country is abused by another country that is mainly Capitalist, you probably wont be over-eager to pick up the strategy of your former antagonist. This pushes many South American countries to the left.
Hoplite said:We have a massive wealth disparity here, why are we not more left?
It's not as stark as it is in many South American countries, I grant you, but it's still a fairly large gulf.
It's not just Cold War policy, the IMF and World Bank as well as NAFTA and other similar initiatives have not been kind to many people in Latin America and elsewhere. That combined with an extremely aggressive foreign policy doesn't do well to paint America in a good light.I think most electorates are fully capable of voting on the matters that affect their country today, rather than what some foreign antagonist did 30 years ago. Not all international political debates revolve around the United States...and certainly not the United States of the Cold War era.
It's still an inescapable fact of life here.Because it's not as stark as it is in many South American countries.
Yes, but our wealth doesnt get us much more stability.And the overall level of wealth is higher.
Lula was insanely popular. 80+% popularity rating I believe.
Plus in most South American countries the legacy of US meddling has driven most people to the left, making it very hard for a right winger to get elected without "help".
It has more to do with having so many people looking for a hand out from the government.
Not a hand out,
But actually providing education, police services and a minimal level of health care, to actually allow for people to become educated productive member of society. Something Brazil in the past has not done, but has been doing lately and is seeing good results from that program
i.e. a hand out
Well let me ask you this.
If a family, were to be bankrupted by say, an injury to their child. And that would only cost the state maybe $2000 to fix. But because you let that family become bankrupt because their incurance dropped them for an abritrary reason or they couldn't qualify in the first place. That family is not completely economically defunct. There's a chance they could get up off their feat, but dad slips into alcoholism, maybe the kid gets taken away.... whatever.
So now instead, you've just completely lost a life long, economically productive family. At $2000 you could have payed their medical bill. And over their lifetime they'd pay it back 50 fold.
Derp.
Sounds like a deadbeat dad, that will suck way more than 2 grand out of the welfare system.
Basically, you're creating a system that tells people, "don't worry, we'll reward your failures". When more and more people believe that, more and more people will find themselves living off the government, because they were too lazy, or too stupid to make it on their own, to begin with.
It has more to do with having so many people looking for a hand out from the government.
Ok, this may come as a shock to you, but not everything in the world fits into your convenient partisan mold.Sounds like a deadbeat dad, that will suck way more than 2 grand out of the welfare system.
Basically, you're creating a system that tells people, "don't worry, we'll reward your failures". When more and more people believe that, more and more people will find themselves living off the government, because they were too lazy, or too stupid to make it on their own, to begin with.
I don't think it's just "US meddling" that has helped drive people to the left in Latin America. The utter ruthlessness of the right wing military dictatorships when they were in power is probably a factor.
What in the world does "US meddling" have to do with left-wing or right-wing politics?
The reason that South America tends to be left-wing is very simple: the HUGE amount of wealth disparity that exists there. Especially in Brazil, where you have glamorous gated mansions just a few blocks away from terrifying favelas with open sewers and no electricity.
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