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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told his compatriots Monday, January 16, that Brazil "has begun to walk on its own two feet" after paying off in full its US$ 15 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund.
Latin America's biggest nation - and No. 2 economy - has gone from being a debtor to a "sovereign partner" of the IMF, the President said in an address to mark the beginning of the last year of his four-year term, which was broadcast live on all radio and television outlets. The settlement of the debt to the IMF was accomplished last week in a ceremony held in Brazilian capital Brasília with Fund Managing Director, Rodrigo Rato. on hand. "Brazil has begun to walk on its own two feet and now will be able to invest more" in social spending, said Lula, who is nominally a Socialist but has pursued conservative fiscal and monetary policies since taking office three years ago. The head of state hailed the coincidence that the IMF debt payoff came during a period when Brazil has been having "the best results of recent years in the creation of jobs, income distribution and poverty reduction." He cited the fact that Brazilian exports "are breaking records every month" and that that is occurring at the same time as "the biggest social investment in its history" was being undertaken. That investment, Lula said, will directly benefit some 40 million poor Brazilians, which he reiterated was the main goal of his administration, though many of his own erstwhile allies on the left have attacked his government for being too tight-fisted. Lula also promised greater investment in education, health and highway construction and maintenance, but he made no mention of the Oct. 1st presidential elections, in which he is expected to seek re-election. "Don't think I believe that everything is marvellous," said Lula, saying that he was aware that "much remains to be done." "Brazil has not changed in three years, but I guarantee that we will do everything possible to get better results than those that many of the (presidents) who preceded me had," he said. In his closing remarks, he said that "the time has come to take a new step," after which he said that in the next few days he would announce a new program to fund production and social investment. He also rejected criticism from the opposition, who has said he has been "electioneering" in his latest announcements on social and economic matters. Lula's chances of winning a second term are problematic given last year's massive corruption scandal surrounding his Workers Party. A poll in December found him trailing the center-right hopeful he defeated in 2002, José Serra, by 37 percent to 31 percent. Mercopress - www.mercopress.com
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Brazil received a huge boost in its international image with its selection as the host of the 2016 Olympics, but it was really just the cherry on top of the overall recognition of the country's ascension to the ranks of one of the world's most important countries. Now, as it finally takes its place on the world scene, there has been a great deal of concern about what kind of image Brazil hopes to project, now that the world is really paying attention. 
The only good thing to say about the visit to Brazil of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Monday November 23, is that it was mercifully short and lasted less than 24 hours. Ahmadinejad had his picture taken being hugged by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who gave him a warm welcome and said Iran had every right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. 
The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
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Billions and billions of Reais were supposed to be freed AND spent for various social programs.
Some of the money was not freed and spent, due to budget austerity the government said, and suddenly it will be available in the election year !
That is manipulation just as was the vote buying corruption.