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 The serious mistakes committed by the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores - Workers Party), both within the party and in government, clash with the traditions of both the PT and the left in Brazil. The Lula government errs and will continue to err when it insists on continuing policies that characterize the right, rather than the left.
The current government's economic policies were inherited from the Fernando Henrique Cardoso government - as the Finance Minister himself declared. They had a series of negative effects on other official policies, such as the decisions pertaining to releasing genetically engineered organisms and reducing the social budget; the contradictory attitude toward free software; the limited and misguided agriculture and agrarian policies; and attitudes toward the rights of indigenous peoples.
These policies were adopted by this administration, but conceived and developed by the right, that is, the block made up of the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB) and the Party of the Liberal Front (PFL). All these decisions favor financial objectives over social goals.
They conflict with the interests of family-run agriculture and food security, while promoting typical right-wing policies, not left-wing ones. An economic model focused on exportation is a right-wing option, while a model focused on income distribution for mass consumption on the internal market is typical of the left.
Electoral campaigns based on marketing are common among right-wing parties and contrary to the values of the left, which are centered on building constituencies based on political debate and ideological values.
Adoption of social policies focused merely on resolving emergencies and charity-type programs, rather than on the universalization of rights is typical of the right, and contrary to the tradition of local PT governments.
These mistakes gave the right wing the opportunity it was counting on to reinstall a Cold War atmosphere, with wide media coverage of any accusations made against the left. The accusations went from the racist declaration made by PFL congressman Jorge Bornhausen, which raised no protest in that same media that gets "outraged" on a daily basis by anything the left does, to the accusations that the Lula administration and PT were somehow involved in the murder of a Brazilian citizen in a London subway station.
Within the dominant conservative consensus, any state expenditures, from the resources spent on social policies to the promotion of cultural activities, are considered criminal because they do not lend to the interests of monopolistic companies - instead, they tend to the poorest in the most unequal country in the world.
The left wing has been criticized for the mistakes committed by Lula and the PT, when in fact their mistakes are based on a continuation of right-wing policies and methods. On the other hand, the merits of the Lula administration and the PT derive directly from the best traditions of the left.
Among other things, these include Brazil's foreign policy, which broke with the right wing's attitude of subservience to the United States. The official education policy deserves credit for blocking the largest education privatization program ever promoted - again a policy characteristic of the right - while working to invigorate public education at all different levels.
Likewise, the government's cultural policies have the merit of rejecting policies to privatize cultural activities - another trademark of the right - as it searches for paths that favor a wide range of initiatives that are public, democratic, and based on grassroots participation.
The left has consistently criticized the rightwing policies and decisions adopted by the government and its leadership. The use of public resources for private purposes is the method by which the right governed the nation throughout its history, with a patronizing view of the state and a mercantile vision of politics.
The leaders of the PT adopted these methods, in direct contradiction to the public spirit that guided most of the party-led local administrations as well as the social policies formulated and practiced by these governments.
Now there is an effort to discredit the historic framework of the leftist movement, responsible for the best moments in the history of humanity, in the name of behavior that represents a rejection of leftists values and an adoption of right-wing methods and politics.
It could be said that the condemnation of immoral acts is the same on the left or the right and so the present situation represents the end of this dichotomy.
It is true that the attitudes of some people who supposedly belong to the left - whether they are legislators or not - are not any different from statements made by the right and diligently echoed in the press. But, in acting that way, these people don't differentiate themselves from the right.
The mistakes made by the PT and the Lula administration are mistakes that come from rightwing convictions and traditions while many of the merits stem from left history and values.
The contemporary right supports the rightwing policies of the government and opposes its leftist policies. An administration born of a left-wing party must reclaim the leftist policies within its government and fight against its own right-wing policies.
The right is showing all its strength in the present crisis. The left must recover its unity, it must suggest alternatives to the crisis, regain the initiative, and stand firm against the policies that still dominate in the world today, whether from the left or the right.
Emir Sader, 62, is Brazilian and professor of Sociology at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) where he is coordinator of the Laboratory of Public Policies. He is also a contributor to the IRC Americas Program (online at americas.irc-online.org). He wrote among other books La venganza de la História (Ed. Clacso).
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But then why Lula, leftist, is doing policies and economics from the right ?
In right countries, usually also in left countries, a voted budget for a program is freed and spent. That is not the case with Lula and his government. they vote high budget to get acclaimed and then silently cut deeply in the same budget.
He did it for scientists and physicians.
He did it for infrastructure. Out of the over 5 billions Reais of this year budget only 1.25 billions were spent.
Same for the promised 400'000 MST settlements. Only 125'000 have been settled after 3 years of economic boom.
Same for sanitation. Budget was 167 millions Reais, then reduced to 90 millions but only 30 millions were freed until FMD desease was found in the country.
I could continue for hours.
So why are they unable or not willing to stick to what was voted and accepted ??
Lula is totally unfair in the promises he made and still make.
He is very proud of what he did economically in 3 years. The fact is that most developing countries did far better in their GDP growth than Brazil.
He has been elected because of a program clearly defined. Very little has been done so far.
Promises have so far been just demagogic words with many contradictions and even more with many many simple lies.
He has been a traitor to his electors.
He is even a traitor to his own PT party.
Many PT leaders are criticizing him these days by not willing to do more on social programs because now you have far more money than earlier !
Hopefully the brazilian citizens wont re-elect him next year.
He has betrayed the left ideology.