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Brazil's Lula Urges World Market to Be More Just with the Weaker |
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Written by Ana Paula Marra
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Wednesday, 23 November 2005 |
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Tuesday, November 22, in Luziânia, state of Goiás, forty kilometers from Brasília, capital of Brazil, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended the opening of the First National Congress on Family Farming.
In a speech he underlined the importance of the farm sector as a source of jobs. He went on to say that one of his government's priorities was to give families that are settled as part of land reform programs a life with dignity.
The idea was to give them a chance to make a living in the countryside, without being forced to move to an urban center and face "conditions that were not humane."
Lula pointed out that ever since the presidential campaign he has been focused on the problems of farming families and sought to keep all the promises he made.
Looking back at his 35 months in office, Lula said that among other things, family farms now have access to more credit with the government making US$ 4 billion (9 billion reais) available this year, an increase of 300% over last year.
Lula also pointed out that his administration has made the distribution of harvest funding more equitable (it was highly concentrated in the south in the past).
The number of loans in the Northeast region has almost doubled (from 285,000 to 568,000 contracts) and in the North region the number has almost tripled (from 35,000 to 98,000).
With foreign guests present at the event, Lula also spoke of the farm subsidy problem.
"If rich countries do not reduce these subsidies, places like Africa will have increasing difficulties to develop. The playing field must be more level.
"The market has to be more just for those who are weaker and behind. Agriculture is the only chance many countries have to gain access to world markets," said the President.
Agência Brasil
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Brazil has the highest wealth inequality in the world after Sierra Leone.
Therefore Lula should first implement his good ideas to his own country.
There would already be much less poverty....by definition !
As to the land reform and dignity with the land reform, what Lula says is a true shame. He promised 400'000 settlements during his first mandate. After 3 years of economic boom he settled only around 130'000 families or so. And despite the economic boom he cut the budget for the MST settlements from 1.7 billions Reais to 700 millions.
With these facts how can he says that he is in favor of land reform and dignity.
Lula has no dignity. He does not care of being in total contradiction with what he said in the not distant past.
Reality is sad and not what Lula is trying to demonstrate by hiding the truth.