9-27-05, 8:45 am

A North American politician once observed, 'the only time I voted for a perfect politician was voting for myself, and then only the first time I ran. It's been compromise ever after.'

Brazil's[President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva], elected on a wave of optimistic idealism, has learned to make political moves far less than ideal. In parting from perfection, however, he's achieved much more than either he promised or he might have without some serious politicking.

He was elected to lead a nation with a failed domestic economy and a shadow foreign policy, rich beyond measure in resources, but as poor as any in the world. And he was elected with a mandate, but had to work with a Congress whose parties he defeated. Before mourning lost perfection, his party and supporters should examine what he did with the limited political resources he had available. His party coalition had only 35% in the Congress after the election, and Brazil's economy was weak in an already weaker region.

With those tools he crafted an alliance of small countries to guide the WTO talks in Cancun to reflect the needs of people in the developing world. He created a coalition to wrest control of health and medicines from the permanent control of the West on behalf of people with AIDS and other critical medical conditions in every developing country in the world. He opened markets in China, Africa, and the European Union that builds Brazilian independence from US markets and an increasingly unstable US economy. And, incrementally, he generated jobs, (Lula has created 3.4 million new jobs to date.) deeds to their homes in the poorest communities, a campaign against racism, began a struggle to end hunger, a battle to end slavery and create domestic economic growth and substantial security for those most oppressed by previous regimes.

To accomplish these goals he had to work with politicians and business interests violently opposed to him and to the parties he represented. He had to deal with the devil. This is hardly a criticism, when he got what was needed to create a base for much more substantial gains still in this decade. To accomplish anything requires a coalition; toaccomplish much requires a broad coalition, often including your enemies. Deals build agreements, and agreements got Brazil to a very different place than ever it had been.

Some of those compromises were, doubtless, less savory, less attractive than others, and, when a government makes deals many within the government mistake the readiness to cooperate with the enemy as an opportunity to profit from that cooperation. Scandals come and go. The only way to clean up a scandal, however, is to make it public and to put the fear of secrecy to rest. The most dramatic of the many achievements of the left must be our own honesty.

No contrast is sharper than a thorough investigation of politically motivated deals in Brazil and America's examination of 9/11 and, now, of their own New Orleans catastrophe. We can cure deal making, but it is impossible to cure the Iraqi war, Abu Grahib, and, now, the politicians running American 'emergency relief.'  The Bush administration eliminating “Davis Bacon” (to lower wages) and affirmative action for jobs for women, minorities and Vietnam and Iraq veterans in rebuilding the gulf.

It is our duty to work to build to solidarity of the left in both South and North America to bring that better world for all people.  As for the USA we need to learn from Brazil and began to have shame for the crimes of the “Bush gang”.  For Brazil you most understand if you chose to swim in dirty water you get dirty.  Also the people must know that it take time to change the curse of a large ship.  But keeping the struggle alive a moving forward takes all of us and that better world will become a reality.



--Gary Dotterman is a contributing editor of Political Affairs and can be reached at pa-letters@politicalaffairs.net.