Brazilian Elections: Lula's Legacy

From the Amazonian state of Acre all the way down to the German settlements in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil is a nation of contradictions and paradoxes. 


The world's fifth largest nation in terms of both geography and population, Brazil has been a wonderment for those around the world, with images of Ipanema Beach and Carnival.  But there is more to this sprawling country that takes up more than two thirds of South America than meets the eye.


Brazil is currently in the midst of it's national elections and looking for a new face to continue to lead the country in the direction that current President Lula ( Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva) managed to put it in during his eight year term. Lula, as he is affectionally called, is so loved that if it were constitutionally possible, Brazilians would reelect him for a third term.


Within his two terms, Lula helped bolster a bourgeoning middle class as well as tackle his country's several challenges. Before his presidency, Brazil was a country with an enormous disparity between the rich and the poor which prevented it's economic growth. In just this decade, thanks to Lula, 27 million Brazilians managed to "move on up" in the social ladder to the middle class. 


The country was also able to narrowly escape the world financial crisis and even see it's economy grow by six percent. Education became a primary concern for Lula's administration with the Bolsa Familia being enacted to encourage poor families to send their children to school for monthly monetary cheques from the government.


All of Lula's work has paid off, Brazil's Gini coefficient on inequality has dropped dramatically in the last decade, making Brazil a success story.


So now that Lula's time is sadly drawing to a close, who will be his best successor?


Three main candidates have come to the forefront but no one has seemed to resonate with the public as well as the current president initially did. Perhaps, it has something to do with his extremely humble beginnings in the Brazilian Nord-Este state of Pernambuco. 


In tomorrow's post, I will explore the candidates that have been drawing the most attention and comparing their backgrounds and their presidential promises. 


I haven't seen or heard anything convincing as yet from the candidates, but I could be biased because as far as I'm concerned, whoever is going to replace Lula has some big shoes to fill.


V.K.L