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 The crowd rushed toward the helicopter as it landed in the nearby field. As they formed a half circle along the barrier created by the military guards, the scene was reminiscent of helicopter food drops, in which throngs of refugees flock to the boxes of aid being distributed by men in uniform.
But the mood here was festive last Saturday - a celebrity had arrived in Cruz das Almas, a small city in the Northeast of Brazil, state of Bahia. Only the paunchy soccer player Ronaldinho is as famous in Brazil as the man who stepped out of the helicopter, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He came to Bahia to inaugurate a new federal university - that was the pretense anyway, for this was a campaign stop, even if the federal election law said otherwise. Lula has yet to declare his candidacy, though no one doubts he will run. His main opponent, São Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), has been hell-bent on challenging Lula for months. To receive his party's nomination, Alckmin orchestrated a daring victory over the favorite, the mayor of the city of São Paulo, José Serra. Now Alckmin is hoping to pull-off another upset in the general elections this November. While Lula has a powerful advantage, Alckmin is not well known outside of his home state, and therefore has the potential to climb in the polls. In the first poll conducted after he announced his candidacy, Alckmin gained three points in a direct match-up with Lula, going from 35% to 38%, while Lula dropped from 53% to 50%. The poll was conducted by the Brazilian agency DataFolha and released on the 19th of March. Split'em Down the Middle Lula hopes that frequent visits to the Northeast will sure up his already strong support in the region, which represents 27% of the electorate. He can count on strong resistance from Alckmin and the PSDB. "We are going to divide Lula's popularity in the Northeast, giving Alckmin a strong platform, with the certainty that he will do the rest of the work in the south," said Cássio Cunha Lima, the PSDB governor of the northeastern state of Paraíba, in an interview with the Brazilian magazine, Isto É. To implement that plan, Alckmin and the PSDB will need the support of the two other powerful political parties in Brazil, The PFL (Liberal Front Party) and the PMDB (The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party) "We've almost reached an agreement, we're about 90% there, but the final 10% still needs to be discussed," said the regional chief of the PFL, the Bahian federal senator Antonio Carlos Magalhães, in an interview with the television network Rede Globo The PMDB, meanwhile, seems set to run its own candidate for the presidency, former Rio de Janeiro governor Anthony Garotinho. Should Garotinho be eliminated in the first round however (a likely scenario), the support of the PMDB would be essential to Alckmin in a second round face-off versus Lula. The Race Card While Lula met with local officials, the crowd grew. Several thousand people were packed into a roped off area in front of the future university's headquarters. Dozens of flags from the governing Workers Party (PT) unfurled in the light wind - bright red with the PT star in the center, they were a reminder of more idealistic days. It was nearing 10:30 AM, and the tropical sun was beating down. An old man collapsed in the front row, and was quickly scooped up by a young medic, who carried his still conscious patience to a nearby tent. A series of bland speeches began, all stressing the importance of education and the wonderful work of the government in this all-important sector, etc. The largest cheers of the day were reserved for the man who spoke just before the President, the Bahian native and famed composer and performer, Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil. The author of many a brilliant song lyric, on this day Gil did not have much to say - he seemed to be going through the motions. Regardless, the audience warmly received their native son, and he commanded the stage with a relaxed and professional demeanor. Gilberto's term as Minister has bolstered his popularity with administrative experience, and should he want it, a spot in the senate may await him. Lula began, as he often does, with a joke. "I actually didn't plan to give a speech today, because every time I speak a political party sues me, saying I'm campaigning". He was referring to the PSDB, which has twice taken complaints to Brazil's chief election court, the Superior Election Tribunal (TSE), accusing the President of campaigning before the law permits. The TSE sided unanimously with President Lula in the last case, determining that since the elections were not the focus of the speech in question, it could not be considered campaigning. (Both candidates are, of course, in full campaign mode, but they can't say so in official government functions, or else they risk violating this arbitrary and capricious law) Lula's central message was that his administration has done more for the Northeast and Afro-Brazilians than any past (read PSDB and Fernando Henrique Cardoso) presidency. "I want to say to you that you should research the last 100 years in Brazil to see if at any moment there was as many black boys and girls studying in Brazilian universities," said Lula. (An attempt to get the relevant enrollment statistics from the Ministry of Education was unsuccessful. A staff member responded, "I cannot make that information available.") Citing statistics from a government program created to give college scholarships to poor students, "University for All" (Universidade para Todos) Lula said, "Just in the last year, [the program] has given out 112,000 scholarships, 40% of which went to students of African descent." The President only made a passing reference to affirmative action quotas, which were implanted last year at the Federal University of Bahia, and have been a source of controversy and debate since. Several banners supporting the quotas were tied to a fence near the entrance. The most audacious belonged to the Bahian congressional representative Luis Alberto. One said, "Only racists oppose the quotas" North and South In the speech's closing section, Lula addressed the regional divisions that have plagued Brazil since colonial times. After reminding the crowd that he was born in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Lula continued, "90% of the doctors in this country are from the South and Southeast, before almost all the investment in technology was for the South and Southeast, 80% of [government investment] in the cinema was for the South and Southeast..." Lula could not resist the temptation to cite his popular companion, "The other day I heard a critique of Gilberto Gil and a defense," said Lula. "The critique was that the portion of money [invested by the Ministry of Culture] for Rio/São Paulo had decreased, but it went to Acre, to Rondônia, to the Amazonas, to Bahia, to Pernambuco ...," and so he continued, his voice growing louder with the mention of every state. Alckmin is well aware that Lula campaign will try to portray him as a detached southern governor, indifferent to the needs of the rest of the country. In his own campaign stop in Bahia in January, he imitated a late American President by declaring "I am Bahian! (Eu sou Baiano)", and grabbed a few headlines. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Governor Alckmin has his work cut out for him in the Northeast. Lula can count on scores of fans eager to serve as volunteers. One such fan, Mara Souza woke up at 5:50 AM and drove 4 hours for the chance to see her President. When asked about Alckmin, she responded, "He's OK, but to challenge Lula? Not him nor anyone else, because with the government that Lula is running in this county, there is no way he is going to lose." The opinions of those present were not unanimous, however. Amidst the multitude of PT supporters, there was at least one doubter. "I think it's a good thing that he is inaugurating this university, but here there is a lot of unemployment," said Edivaldo da Silveira of Cruz das Almas. "We need factories, industry, jobs. Education is good. Health is good, but without money, you can't do anything - not study, or buy medicine. More than anything, you have to have jobs." Silveira continued: "Personally, I will vote in Geraldo Alckmin. I lived in São Paulo during a year and a half, and I got to know the job that he has done there. I am familiar with Lula as well, but after all this mess that's been going on... With Alckmin, no one has anything bad to say, so I will vote for him." If Silveira gains company, then Lula will have a real fight on his hands, and Brazilian democracy will be better for it. Jared Goyette is a freelance writer who lives in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia. His blog can be found at http://bahiacorrespondent.blogspot.com/ and his email is jaredmgo -at- gmail [dot] com.
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