Silva Celebrates Victory In Brazil

From shoeshine boy to union firebrand to the next president of Latin America's largest nation, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrated a stunning electoral victory, but has a world of problems to confront in Brazil.

Silva became the first leftist elected president of Brazil, beating ruling party candidate Jose Serra with 61 percent of the vote in a runoff.

Thousands of people thronged the streets of Sao Paulo, waving the red flags of Silva's Workers Party to the boom of fireworks and the throbbing of live music. Some revelers also hoisted the hammer-and-sickle flag of the Communist Party, which backed Silva.

But so did the rightist party of Silva's running mate, Jose Alencar. The country's bankers and industrialists associations were among those welcoming Silva's victory.

Silva, who dropped out of school after the fifth grade, will face enormous challenges after his Jan. 1 inauguration. He must try to pull more than 50 million Brazilians from poverty, save the world's ninth-largest economy from recession, create new jobs and increase housing.

At the same time, he must maintain fiscal responsibility and the confidence of Brazil's creditors and investors.

Standing by a huge banner with the words "Hope Will Overcome Fear," supporters listened to Silva deliver a speech filled with encouragement, his words echoing down Avenida Paulista, Sao Paulo's main avenue.

"So far, it has been easy," Silva said. "The hard part begins now. We will work around the clock to fulfill every one of our campaign promises."

In an interview with Brazil's Globo TV, he reiterated that his administration would honor Brazil's $230 billion foreign debt, but said lending institutions and the international community "must know that we cannot have people suffering from hunger every day."

For many, Silva's win represents a chance for leftist politics to make a comeback on a continent where, except for Venezuela, it seemed in danger of fading away.

"This is our opportunity to consolidate our hopes for a Brazil which should be more just, and needs to care more about the needs of the people," shouted Marcos Xavier, a university professor standing among the throng of Silva supporters on Sao Paulo's main avenue.

President Bush said through his spokesman that he "looks forward to working productively with Brazil."

But relations with Washington may become testy. Silva already has expressed opposition to President Bush's ambitions to have a 34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas in place by 2005. Silva wants U.S. markets more open to Brazilian orange juice, steel and sugar.

Silva also opposes the U.S. military presence in neighboring Colombia and the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

The son of a poor farmer, Silva is a role model for the impoverished millions of this country, which is almost the size of the United States. Silva easily beat Serra in the first round of voting, but since he failed to get 50 percent of the vote, the two top candidates met in Sunday's runoff.

In a Sao Paulo slum, or favela, pro-Silva sentiment was widespread as people lined up to vote.

"He was the only one — as a metalworker union leader — who helped the poor," said Nelson Luiz da Silva Pelotti, a 56-year-old retired metalworker.

Silva, who turned 57 on election day, will appoint a team this week to ensure a smooth transition from the government of current President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who served two four-year terms and was barred from seeking a third. Cardoso privatized many of Brazil's giant monopolies and lowered import taxes, but failed to help millions of poor Brazilians.

Silva is expected to came up with several new initiatives, including creating a super-ministry to take oversee housing, urban sanitation and transportation. He also reportedly plans to promote to Cabinet level those government agencies dealing with hunger, security and racism.

Silva left school after the fifth grade to sell peanuts and shine shoes on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. At 14, he began working in a factory, where he lost his left pinkie finger in a machine press.

Silva first ran for president in 1989 as the candidate of the Workers Party, urging landless farm workers to invade private property and calling for a default on Brazil's foreign debt.

However, in three subsequent presidential campaigns, Silva moderated his radical tone.

Brazil's last leftist president was Joao Goulart, a vice president who assumed power in 1961 when the centrist president resigned. Goulart served 2½ years and was deposed by a right-wing military coup.

By AndrewSelsky