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 It's not only the king who is naked in Brazil. All the presidential candidates are also naked, offering the electorate an explicit show of flabby skin, big bellies, derrières and slim shins. All you need is for a child to ask all of the presidential wannabes what are their intentions for the 2007-2010 mandate. Up to now, zippo. They haven't told us what's in their mind. None has a program, not even a collection of dispersed plans.
Emphasizing the lie that he hasn't decided yet if he will be a candidate, Lula goes around the country inaugurating public works, getting photographed wearing different caps, but never talking about the changes he intends to make in a second mandate. He gives us the impression that everything will continue the way it is, in other words, that he will keep an economic policy geared to benefit banks, plus an assistencialist social policy and lots of illusory propaganda about the creation of jobs. which cannot be proved. Add to this boasts of self-sufficiency in oil and anticipated payment of the debt with the IMF. Without Government's Program What's his formula to find an answer to the rural producers' complaints, for example? Or what is he going to do to contain the violence of organized crime? What will he do and how in the presence of the threat of electric power shortage, or the Landless Invasions, the poverty that's multiplying or even the barks of Bolivia's President? Is Lula alone? Not at all. Take former São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin who promises that things are going to change, that Brazil needs an administration shock, that the economy needs to grow more than 7% a year. The problem is that he doesn't explain how this will be done. As a toucan that can't manage to taxi and much less to take off, he owes a flight plan to his dwindling sympathizers. Senator Cristovam Buarque talks all the time about the importance of investing in education, but he cannot tell where the money to finance this will come from. After having repudiated Communism Roberto Freire is back to the Marxist canons. Heloísa Helena unleashes her signature vituperation against the owners of the power and even Dr. Enéas can only keep repeating his own name. The PMDB party forsook shamefully the hypothesis of launching its own candidate and decided instead to support the reelection of President Lula, but they are not volunteering any suggestion on how to help the government in a second mandate. The pro-government members seem to be content in revindicating their parcel in the public administration, some seats in the cabinet and a few more places in management positions from state companies. All want power for the sake of power, without knowing what to do with this power after they get it. I'm Back Senator Aloísio Mercadante, the leader of the government in the Senate and candidate to the São Paulo governorship, has announced that he is already back from the United States, that he stayed there only for two days and that despite being in New York he gave a press conference concerning the São Paulo chaos. He classified as inadmissible the São Paulo government's agreement with the leaders of the organized crime, but he continues owing considerations on what he will do, if he is elected, to reestablish the order. Former São Paulo mayor and another candidate to the São Paulo governorship, José Serra, has done even less. As we have seen Serra kept mum while in the Northern Hemisphere, without advancing diagnoses or recipes to give back to the people of São Paulo minimal conditions to keep on working. Many people will say that former-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who is also in the US, has nothing to do with this, he is no candidate and he shouldn't be worried about finding solutions to face the horror that dominates São Paulo. Whoever can do the same should just schedule trips overseas to flee this kind of threats. They all like to play the ostrich, burying their head in the rich American sand, while the storm rages in Brazil. Public security is none of their business. As a matter of fact, it's not... Shame The governor of São Paulo, Cláudio Lembo, insists that there was no agreement between organized crime and the Paulista government. State authorities have visited the Mafia boss and even gave his lawyer a ride in an official plane. All just to know if Don Marcola was being well treated in prison as the human rights postulates require. The governor is a strong candidate for a Pinocchio award. Lembo does not even know what's the source for the money to buy the 60 TV sets installed in the penitentiaries so that the inmates can see the World Cup. He is going to order an inquiry, without even considering that the narcotraffic has paid for it. It would be interesting to know how the TV sets arrived in the prisons. They came from stores. But with which kind of receipt? Not even that the São Paulo governor is able to explain. And he will not be able to explain either the origin of the money for the new khaki uniforms coming soon to the inmates. They will replace the current ones, which are yellow and hurt the eyes and the dignity of the crime's chieftains. Lembo cannot be elected even as city council. He doesn't need though. He has already assured his place in History. Carlos Chagas writes for the Rio’s daily Tribuna da Imprensa and is a representative of the Brazilian Press Association, in Brasília. He welcomes your comments at
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. Translated from the Portuguese by Arlindo Silva.
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Two days ago, I was watching CNN reporter asking the Philadelphia mayor what was his plans to resolve a very serious problem concerning the city. She was close to insolence and she was all over the guy. The media in the USA does not let things go by unnoticed so easily and they work as political watchdogs in many occasions.
Our media should act the same, bombard the politicians with though questions and let the people see their reactions.
I am not saying that the media is the cure for all evils we have but definitely, they should expose much more those political clowns.
We depend on the press a lot more than people can realize.