Off to a Good Start
Dec 8, 2003
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has
achieved a lot in his first year in office. His reform agenda next
year promises to be as challenging as it has been in
2003.
I wrote in this magazine a
year ago, during the tense 2002 presidential elections, that
whoever won would face a challenging reform agenda. I wrote that
reforms were needed, “To release the immense potential of a
hardworking, creative and dynamic society.”
Another important point I raised last year was that the media
had exaggerated the depth and extent of President Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva’s leftist convictions. I also mentioned a few challenges.
He and his Workers Party (PT) had to overcome the temptation of
adopting heterodox, or unconventional, economic policies. Lula also
had to negotiate with conservative leaders, the very individuals he
had spent much of his political career opposing, to build a
political base for his government in Congress.
Both these challenges have been met with flying colors. Lula has
built a majority in Congress composed of parties from a variety of
ideological...
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