Dilma Rouseff new Brazil President

[yobbos1]

Unable to post links yet.

Marxist new president of Brazil.

What does this mean for Latin America?

[Crux]

Lula 2.
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4597

[the last donut of the night]

She's hardly a Marxist, and neither is Lula. Nothing really that new, aside from her being a woman.

[Ermo Kruus]

I wish they would turn more to the left. I know there's a Marxist wing of the party, but I don't know how big it is, or if it got a large following at all.

The reforms they've implemented works for now, but they will eventually reach a point where they can't do more social reforms in the capitalist framework.

[REDSOX]

Roussef was once a guerilla fighter against the brazilian military tyrants who ran that country from 1964-1985. Nowadays she is a social democrat maybe slightly to the left of Lula but not much. She promises more or less the same policies as lula but with slightly more welfarism and state intervention and control especially in the oil industry. So i have no illusions in her and the workers party to bring about radical change yet alone marxist policies, although now they have a majority in the congress they may pursue bolder policies(we can hope) but better roussef than the social democrats of serra. I also think it is important that the far left stays within the workers party to try and push it more leftwards.

[the last donut of the night]

Roussef was once a guerilla fighter against the brazilian military tyrants who ran that country from 1964-1985. Nowadays she is a social democrat maybe slightly to the left of Lula but not much. She promises more or less the same policies as lula but with slightly more welfarism and state intervention and control especially in the oil industry. So i have no illusions in her and the workers party to bring about radical change yet alone marxist policies, although now they have a majority in the congress they may pursue bolder policies(we can hope) but better roussef than the social democrats of serra. I also think it is important that the far left stays within the workers party to try and push it more leftwards.

I'm not sure it's really possible to bring back the PT to what it used to be. Even if we could, I just think that'd be a waste of time. However, I'm not too informed on the issue, so other here should give in their views. We used to have a Brazilian comrade here who was part of the MRS (Movimento para a Reinstituicao do Socialismo, I think) that advocated a policy to draw back the party to its roots. Not sure if he's still here though.

[lines]

I don't understand how people can criticize leaders as not being left wing enough when the people doing the criticizing live in countries that are engaged in imperialism and are countries that have never had a leader as left wing as the leader they are criticizing. Its important to be aware of faults and be critical of certain things but some people engage in fault-finding so much that they rarely ever have anything positive to say about anything.

[Rusty Shackleford]

what it does mean is that it wont be shifting to the right, or accepting neo-liberalism. cooperation with UNASUR and ALBA countries will continue.

EDIT: I WAS DEAD WRONG ON SOME THINGS, THEY WILL BE IMPLEMENTING AUSTERITY-LIKE MEASURES. As for UNASUR and ALBA, i have no clue really.

[Luís Henrique]

I'm not sure it's really possible to bring back the PT to what it used to be.

It never was "what it used to be", if I correctly understand whay you mean by "what it used to be"...


We used to have a Brazilian comrade here who was part of the MRS (Movimento para a Reinstituicao do Socialismo, I think) that advocated a policy to draw back the party to its roots. Not sure if he's still here though.

That would be me.

But the point is, what exactly should the politics of the left for Brazil be?

Luís Henrique

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Roussef was once a guerilla fighter against the brazilian military tyrants who ran that country from 1964-1985. Nowadays she is a social democrat maybe slightly to the left of Lula but not much. She promises more or less the same policies as lula but with slightly more welfarism and state intervention and control especially in the oil industry. So i have no illusions in her and the workers party to bring about radical change yet alone marxist policies, although now they have a majority in the congress they may pursue bolder policies(we can hope) but better roussef than the social democrats of serra. I also think it is important that the far left stays within the workers party to try and push it more leftwards.

the far left alleges that they were literally expelled from the party

it is a bourgeois capitalist party. even hardcore PT militants admit to that, which i am not. it brings us back to the age old question of whether we as revolutionary socialists should blindly oppose bourgeois politics under all circumstances or whether under certain conditions it may be necessary to support a reformist party.
obviously i voted for dilma