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Date Posted: 15:51:18 10/05/06 Thu
Author: Cara Kozma
Subject: Re: Brazilian Elections
In reply to: Alex Marinica 's message, "Brazilian Elections" on 19:21:40 10/02/06 Mon

Alex,
Your letter is very well-written, and I think you make a strong point that the president usually becomes the scapegoat for all that is wrong in a country. Although I do think it's important that politicans be held accountable for their actions, I also think that more investigation needs to go into others who are involved in such activities as well.
Cara


>September 30, 2006

>
>Dear Editor
>
> Why is it that the president of any country is always
>either the hero, or the foe? The president is the
>person who is blamed when everything seems to be going
>wrong, but as long everything is going right he is the
>national hero. This seems to be the case in Brazil,
>and with the elections coming up, President Luiz
>Inacio Lula da Silva seems to be on the winning side
>of this reality. My point is, even though in the past
>President Silva and his party have been linked to
>corruption, the Brazilian people love him because he
>has turned Brazil around and made life better for the
>common man and woman. Even though many think it is
>wrong to accredit Silva, because of his past actions,
>I believe that certain actions can and should be
>forgiven when the people’s rights can still be
>protected and the greater good is served.
> I am not an expert on Brazilian affairs and I have to
>admit that until recently I have not followed these
>upcoming elections. But, as I began reading the
>newspaper articles on this subject, I found the trend
>of putting all responsibility on the leader seems to
>exist even in Brazil. As the process of campaigning
>began, President Silva’s opponent tried to gain ground
>by reminding the Brazilian people that he was accused
>of being corrupt. Among these was an incident in 2002
>when members of his Workers Party were caught with
>almost $800,000 in cash which was to be paid in order
>to receive incriminating information on one of Silva’s
>opponents. Our generation may view this as incidental
>because it seems to happen so often; but the
>generation that came before us can remember when
>Richard Nixon was forced to resign. There was evidence
>that made it look like his party (with his knowledge)
>acted very similar to that of Silva’s during his
>campaigning period. So why has Silva been forgiven,
>by at least 50 percent of the electorate? Those 50
>percent argue that what he has done for Brazil far
>outweighs his accusations. In an article, written by
>Larry Rohter of the New York Times, it is stated that
>Silva’s “Family Allowance” campaign has given 11
>million families an extra $45 dollars a month to help
>pay for basic necessities such as food and clothes.
>This might not seem like a lot, but compared to the
>$60 a month that these families are forced to live on
>it almost doubles there income. According to Liz
>Mineo of the Daily News, inflation has gone down to
>only 4 percent from 13 and billions of dollars in debt
>were paid off. Foreign investments have also grown to
>$21.5 billion, and Brazilian currency has strengthened
>39 percent against the U.S. dollar.
> When all of this is taken into consideration the
>bottom line is this: Silva seems to have turned
>around his countries economy in only four years which
>is a feat that should be rewarded in this upcoming
>election. He has turned his country into a viable
>competitor in today’s world market place and I see no
>reason why some scandals in his past should stand in
>the way of the future of Brazil and its people.
>
>Alex Marinica
>Student, Wayne State University

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