Brazil’s Lula Prepares to Pass the Baton

[Judi Lynn]

Brazil’s Lula Prepares to Pass the Baton
September 23, 2010

The president's likely successor, Dilma Rousseff, should be given a chance to not be him.

Gabriela Perdomo - The toughest challenge Dilma Rousseff will face over the next four years, if she wins Brazil’s presidential election on Oct. 3 as expected, will be that she is not Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula, as the world came to know him, is without a doubt one of the most successful living political leaders of our time. He is credited for transforming Brazil into a global model for emerging developing nations, lifting millions of people out of poverty, and giving Latin America’s left a chance to re-invent itself.

Rousseff, Lula’s former chief of staff, is on her way to succeed him. Voting intention polls, like the most recent one published by Datafolha, say Rousseff will secure victory in the first round of voting. Every available survey shows her winning the run-off on Oct. 31 if the first round is not conclusive.

Once she takes over, Rousseff will carry the burden of demonstrating that her predecessor’s policies were indeed sustainable while at the same time introducing ideas of her own.

More:
http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/35920/brazils_lula_prepares_to_pass_the_baton