Norris McDonald | Lula’s victory a cry for justice in a ‘One Don’ world order
Published:Wednesday | November 2, 2022 | 12:06 AM
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in the recent Brazilian presidential election has continued the rapid pace of a left-ward shift in the Americas, as the world capitalism is once again gripped by a terrible political economic crisis.
One foreign policy challenge Brazil will face is how to navigate the ravages of ensuing global economic storm even as it tackles domestic issues.
Lula’s victory follows that of Gustavo Petro in Colombia. Petro was a former guerilla fighter who created history with his election by becoming Colombia’s first leftist president.
Petro’s vice-president, Francia Marquez, also created history. She rose from being a housemaid to become the first black vice-president of Colombia.
These are all signs of the left-wing, progressive, deep-rooted political transformation sweeping Latin America.
RACIAL INJUSTICE
The political winds of change shaking Latin America have seen left-wing governments coming to power now in Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. They all join Venezuela who has long been regarded by the United States as a defiant thorn in her hegemonic side.
Brazil, under Lula, will present a further challenge to American ‘One Don’ hegemonic politics.
Lula faces a monumental task. He once again leads a society with deep-rooted poverty, racism, and overall lack of social and economic justice.
A glaring sign of this is the thousands of Favellas – mass slum communities – that exist.
Blacks and other poor people live in these Favellas that lack proper sanitation, clean drinking water and other necessary amenities.
Favellas, nevertheless, are an important cultural, heart and soul of the Brazilian people.
Edson Arantes do Nascimentos – Pele – was a Brazilian icon who, like many of Brazil’s soccer stars, come from the Favellas.
Pele became a symbol of Black sports excellence when he led Brazil to soccer World Cup victories in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and was a dazzling maestro, leading goalscorer. He was a mighty Black symbol of excellence, not just for Brazilians but for the entire world. Eventually, he became a minister of sports.
It is a mistake, though, if we take the success of Pele, one great Brazilian Black man, and assume that systematic racism does not exist in Brazil.
This, in my opinion, is mere symbolism. And that is part of the problem where societies use symbolism to deceitfully hide the ‘bitta truth’ about how the ‘invisible people’ in the underclass live.
Black and indigenous people over the years have faced extreme social oppression.
Black poverty rates in Brazil, for example, are extremely higher than that of other poor people.
Slum dwellers in Brazil, like poor people everywhere, are crying out for justice. In 2020 it was estimated that there were at least 20 million Brazilians, mostly Black people, who had no food to eat.
• How will Lula tackle this problem?
• How will he address the issue of deforestation of the Amazon Basin and logging, and the rights of indigenous people?
• What is his agenda for ending the scourge of racial discrimination and make life better for Brazilian Black people?
These issues will no doubt pose grave challenges to Lula in terms of coming up with a working agenda to tackle social justice issues.
Then there is the issue of political tensions with the traditional ruling classes, Jair Bolsonaro’s primary big-money backers who will clearly resist serious political economic changes.
It is going to be interesting to watch how the political fights will play out. Will there be another ‘palace coup’ against Lula, as happened before?
One can only hope not but as Bob Marley would say…
“Time alone, oh, time will tell
Think you are in heaven but you’re living in hell!”
Meanwhile, we see a cosmopolitan Brazil presented to us. That’s the one that people glorify because of dazzling Samba-Samba soccer. That’s the Brazil of industrial progress that is rapidly emerging as a world power. It is this Brazil we see as a part of the BRICs group of countries.
BRICs consist of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It is set to expand with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Argentina, Kazakhstan, United Arab Republic, Nigeria, Senegal, Thailand and maybe Iran.
In terms of foreign policy, one can expect Brazil to continue being an international powerhouse through BRICS.
My friends, there is political and economic crises everywhere. This is the transformative process that we are seeing in Brazil and other parts of Latin America.
On the African continent there is political upheavals aimed against the French colonial power now led by Monsieur Petite Napoleon, Emmanuel Macron. In Mali, Chad, Niger and the Central African Republic, these countries are demanding that France ends her colonial dominance.
Worldwide there is a rising groundswell of black, brown, and indigenous people fighting for racial, social, cultural, political, and economic justice. The ‘One Don’ world order is collapsing before our eyes.
Crises bring opportunity for change, as we can see.
Now too…
A political storm is coming
Winds of change are blowing
A new dawn is arising
An di Horns’ man is yelling;
Wake up people, time come!
Oh children, weep no more, Bob Marley told us, poor people’s tears of pain must become tears of joy.
The voice of poor people worldwide is crying out for real change. That is the hopes, the dreams, the cry for justice in poor people worldwide and most of all, among the ‘down-pressed’ Black, native and indigenous people everywhere.
My friends, the political winds of change are blowing in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. And there is nothing the US or her other neocolonialist, hegemonic allies can do to stop these changes.
That is just the ‘bitta’ truth!
Norris McDonald is an economic journalist, political analyst, and respiratory therapist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and miaminorris@yahoo.com.