Brazil leader's star rises, burnishes his country's image

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Buoyed by a robust economy and his ability to work with leaders across the ideological spectrum, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has emerged as the chief power broker and mediator in South America.

Lula's rise has paralleled curtailed U.S. influence in its so-called "backyard," analysts say, a product in part of plummeting U.S. global prestige and the Bush administration's unremitting focus on the Middle East.

Lula, a moderate with an unassailable leftist background, has become the point man for healing regional crises such as the current turmoil in Bolivia and the past threat of war among Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.

A survivor of overlapping corruption scandals, Lula now exudes the persona of a level-headed leader who eschews ideology for solutions. The can-do image and economic prosperity have helped win him soaring popularity at home and abroad.

Brazil's president seems intent on fulfilling Brazil's long-unrealized economic and political potential and making the country a recognized world power, starting by asserting its role as South America's pre-eminent presence.

Lula's skills as a mediator probably will be tested as the region enters a renewed period of uncertainty — with the prospect of civil war in Bolivia; a shaky leftist government headed by an ex-bishop in Paraguay; Venezuela's emerging alliances with Russia and Iran; and a new U.S. president to be elected in the midst of an American financial crisis that probably will continue sending ripples through the hemisphere.

Lula increasingly has asserted his influence as he and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez vie for the hearts and minds of contemporary Latin America.

But Lula's aims transcend any competition with Chávez, whose nation is much smaller than Brazil. Lula has loftier goals, even pushing for a permanent seat for Brazil on the U.N. Security Council, however unlikely the prospect.

Whether it's sloughing off Chávez's strident anti-Americanism or privatizing roads and power plants in Brazil, the ex-union firebrand who emerged from the assembly lines of São Paulo has defied stereotypes since taking office in 2003 as the avatar of a new generation of leftist leaders.

He has gone from being what some people considered a radical hellbent on imposing socialism to a free-market champion who still lavishes social spending on the poor.

Lula enjoys a warm relationship with President Bush and was a guest last year at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. But he's no U.S. patsy, challenging the U.S. on economic and security issues when he sees Brazil's interests at stake.

But for U.S. policymakers, Lula is a welcome counterweight to Chavez's "yanqui"-bashing bluster. Last month in Chile, Lula trumped Chávez at an emergency summit of South American leaders seeking to short-circuit widening conflict in Bolivia, which shares a long border with Brazil.

At home, Lula's popularity — an opinion poll out this week put his approval rating at 68 percent — has little to do with submarines and foreign policy. It's all about the galloping economy.

Brazil, among the world leaders in exports of soybeans, beef, iron and coffee, is shedding the vestiges of its Third World image. It has scored big in the worldwide commodity boom, spurred by voracious Asian demand. International investment is pouring in.

In a nation notorious for its unequal distribution of wealth, Lula has managed the difficult challenge of pleasing both the affluent and the impoverished multitudes.

Lula's allies sweep mayor posts

BRASÍLIA, Brazil — Allies of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were poised to pick up the most local mayorships in municipal elections Sunday that were marred by isolated shootings.

Boosted by Lula's popularity amid an extended economic boom that has raised salaries and lifted millions out of poverty, the ruling Workers Party is seeking to increase its control of local governments, especially in the 26 state capitals.

In the northeastern state of Maranhão, local media reported that assailants opened fire on a car carrying a mayoral candidate in the small city of Bom Lugar, killing his brother and another man.

In Rio de Janeiro, two men were reportedly shot with nonlethal ammunition by soldiers, 5,000 of whom were deployed to keep order and safeguard the vote after threats from powerful militias and drug gangs.

Mayorships and council seats were up for grabs in more than 5,500 cities. The Workers Party won 411 mayorships four years ago, up from 187 in 2000.

— The Associated Press