Lula's Victory Celebration
October 29, 2002

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Dear all:

Yesterday was a historic day in Brasil and I just happened to be here to witness it. Brasil's new president, Lula, was elected into office by an overwhelming number of votes, and the importance of this win effected many Brazilians on many levels. I'm not going to attempt to give a political analysis here, but just on an emotional level you must consider a few things. Lula is a man from simple beginnings who ran for the Presidency 4 times. He's a man who truly seems to be for the people and for the betterment of the country. After years and years of trying, he finally got what he (and many others) wanted. It's a pretty romantic story. Of course, I'm drastically simplifying the story, but you can read more about it elsewhere if you like.

For many people here it was an incredibly emotional moment in their lives. I was in the center of the city for the celebration and a friend of mine began to cry. He told me I couldn't imagine the emotion he was feeling (he was right of course). He talked about how much suffering so many Brazilians have had to deal with. You have to remember that Brasil has been led by right-wing politicians for many years, not to mention the years of a horrible dictatorship. Lula represents the "left", and many people here have been waiting their whole lives to see this moment. Of course only time will tell what the results will be. Let's hope they will be positive.

So, about last night.

I've been in Rio for Carnaval, New Year's Eve, the World Cup, and now the celebration for possibly the most emotional political celebration in recent Brazilian history. When something like this happens here you need to decide where to celebrate. After a few phone calls I got a tip that turned out to be a good one. One of the Carnaval "blocos", Cordao do Boitata, was going to assemble downtown and march (singing/playing) to Cinelandia, a historic section of downtown Rio.

Take a look and see for yourselves .....

http://homepage.mac.com/sfeiner/PhotoAlbum3.html

Scott

Posted by Scott at 12:22 AM