Nov. 1^o., 2002: Diario Las Américas, Miami (FL); Oct. 30, 2002: Venezuela Analítica, Caracas (Foros) - Editorial CubDest

For Mr. Lula da Silva, triumphant presidential Brazilian leftist candidate, the victory on Sunday, the 27th of October of the current year, contains at least two troubling political paradoxes, which are necessary to keep in mind in order to make an objective evaluation of what transpired, and to lay out hypothesis of what could occur.

First paradox: Lula, obtained almost 53 million votes from a pool of 115 million electors, but his party "Partido de los Trabajadores (PT)" was defeated in the important governors’elections. From a total of 27 states, he only won 3 State governments, Acre, Piauí and Mato Grosso do Sul, almost irrelevant when compared to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Brasilia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande del Sur, etc.

The defeat of PT in this last state is particularly significant: having occupied state government during two terms, its administration was considered the national and international "showcase" of said political association. This was a decisive argument for the leftist Worldwide Social Forum to choose Porto Alegre, the capitol, as the headquarters of said worldwide event. However, the residents of Rio Grande do Sul were not of the same opinion, ousting the PT from power.

Along the same line, the PT obtained 14 senators, from a total of 81; 91 delegates, from 513; and 147 state delegates, from 1.059.

Second troubling paradox: Everyone in Brazil, including the PT, are aware that the votes received by Lula were not for the real Lula -- friend and admirer of the dictator Fidel Castro; founder along with him of the subversive São Paulo Forum, of which Colombian narco-guerillas take part in; and alley of the Marxist "liberation theologists" -- but instead they went for the neo-Lula, with his slogan of "Lulita peace and love"; a product of publicity marketing and, perhaps even collective suggestion, as pointed out by the Cuban-American writer Armando Valladares.

Because of this, we dare affirm that Lula won and would rise to presidency of the gigantic Brazil, literally stepping on eggshells.

The caution on behalf of the loquacious communist dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro, is because he perceives the precariousness of the victory of Lula da Silva; and that the slightest step in the wrong direction could break the eggs on which his friend, alley and admirer Lula steps on, and ruin everything.

If the aforementioned is true, it is clear then that at least there is an artificial euphoric air by certain international analysts, that intends to make us believe that the triumph of Lula signifies a kind of "red wave" advancing almost irreversibly over Latin America, with repercussions in the entire world.

In either case, difficult times are coming, perhaps very difficult; and that we cannot deny. However, discouragement is not justified. The centrist and conservative sectors, the majority in our continent, have in their hands the responsibility of acting doctrinal and publicly -- invariably respecting the laws of God and of men -- to revert the actual situation.

There is much more to comment on. For the moment, we did not want to wait on this first analysis.