Ex-President Lula enters the fray

It’s hard to stop watching the news, as experts of all kinds discuss the legality of making Lula a minister and the chances of the government getting away with it, while previously pro-Dilma politicians dither about whether or not to jump ship. So apologies for yet another screen shot, but today was the day of the pro-government protests, and there, in the middle of the sea of red shirts, is Lula in mid diatribe. The depressing thing is that he has charisma and knows just how to work the crowd. Convincing the trade unions is easy, but somehow he still manages to convince some intellectuals, teachers (even though they earn a pittance, teach under lamentable conditions, and should know that investment in education is almost zero) – fewer than before, though. Ironically, as Lula’s party, the PT, has very militant wings that he is always appealing to, as well as the Movimento Sem-Terra (Landless Movement), which is very violent and disruptive, he’s saying here that “There are people who preach violence against us 24 hours a day”. The anti-government protests were completely non-violent, with no-one looking for violent confrontation.
 
The worst of it is, that although the government’s popularity, and even Lula’s, is at its lowest ever ebb, the opposition has no plausible leader. It seems that just about every politician in Brazil has skeletons in the cupboard and it’s hard to have faith in any of them.