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The former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva this Wednesday conclusively stated that only the United States is to blame for the current political and economic crisis rattling Brazil. Lula said President Dilma Rousseff has nothing to do with the economic turmoil.
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“The Brazilian crisis was born at the heart of the United States and today many are paying for that,” Lula said from the country's capital Brasilia.
“There are those who blame Dilma, saying she is responsible, but those people that present themselves as if they had the solution to the world's problems are forgetting that when I took office this country was destroyed and depended on the (U.S.-controlled) International Monetary Fund.”
Known as the father of the social programs that have brought over 30 million Brazilians out of poverty in the last decade, Lula is perceived by many as the only politician who could lead the country out of the crisis it is currently facing; he has been mentioned on various occasions by his supporters as the ruling Workers’ Party presidential candidate for 2018.
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Until then, his return to government remains a subject of speculation. Analysts believe he will be asked to take on a role in the ministry.
Since coming to power in 2003, Lula and Rousseff’s consecutive Workers’ Party administrations have achieved widespread social gains, reducing unemployment and poverty by half, and more than tripling education and health spending.
However, the economy is faltering and inflation is on the rise. Leading Workers’ Party members have been implicated in the Lava Jato scandal involving the country's state oil company, Petrobras.
In March, the right-wing and upper class led big marches against Rousseff’s government.
Now it appears that more conservative sectors of Rousseff's ruling coalition are breaking off and joining forces with the right-wing Social Democracy Party, PSDB. Among them is the conservative head of the lower house Eduardo Cunha, who is considering moving forward with impeachment proceedings. Another anti-Dilma march has been called for Aug. 16.
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