VT AFL-CIO CONGRATULATES LULA DA SILVA ON HIS & THE WORKERS’ PARTY VICTORY IN BRAZIL – LEFTISTS DEFEAT FAR RIGHT IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO

From The Guardian:

“Brazil’s former leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has sealed an astonishing political comeback, beating the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in one of the most significant and bruising elections in the country’s history.

“With 99.97% of votes counted, Silva, a former factory worker who became Brazil’s first working-class president exactly 20 years ago, had secured 50.9% of the vote. Bolsonaro, a firebrand [Trumpian neo-fascist] who was elected in 2018, received 49.10%…”

With this election win, Brazil, the largest economy in South America, joins a wave a leftist governments winning elections or maintaining power across Latin America including Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Cuba.

Lula and the Workers’ Party (PT) coming back into power marks a positive development for the poor and working class in Brazil. Defeat would have allowed the far right, who is hostile to democracy and expansion of social programs, to consolidate their hold of this large country of 214 million. Lula, for his part, has pledged to be a voice for workers and the poor and to re-implement more sustainable environmental policies especially concerning the preservation of the Amazon rain forest.

-VT AFL-CIO