São Paulo – A guest at the 6th annual Al Jazeera Forum, whose theme is “The Arab World in Transition,” the former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave an emphatic address in praise of democracy and discussed Latin American experiences, especially those of Brazil, in Doha, Qatar on Sunday (13th).
“We discovered that democracy is not only a speech, it is not only a discourse, it is a very difficult construction that demands the participation of all, respect towards differences of opinion, and the maturity to know how to live with divergences, although they could be very annoying," said Lula regarding the process of re-democratization of Brazil after the military regime, which lasted from 1964 to 1985.
The event organized by the Qatar-based TV network was held at a time when protests for political, economic and social change are taking place throughout the Arab world. In the week before last, the former Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim also addressed the Brazilian example at a similar summit.
“[Democracy] is a very complicated construction that that demands patience and determination, as well as a deep understanding that the people should be in the core, in the centre of political life, and that they need to have their demands listened to and they should be taken into account,” stated the former president, according to a transcript of the address published on the Al Jazeera website. “It is the people, not the rulers, that are the driving force behind transformation,” he added.
As a case in point, Lula told his personal story, from his poor childhood in the state of Pernambuco, in Northeast Brazil, to his work as a metalworker in São Paulo, his history of union leadership, his entry into politics and his election for president in 2002, after three unsuccessful attempts.
He stated that were it not for democracy, his story would not have been possible, as well as those of other politicians, such as the president of the United States, Barack Obama, the country’s first black president; the president of Bolivia, Indian leader Evo Morales; the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela; and Lula’s own successor in the Brazilian presidency, Dilma Rousseff, the first woman to lead Brazil.
Lula said, however, that democracy is not only the people’s right to voice their demands, but also the right to see them met. To that extent, he claimed that more than the right to vote and be voted on, democracy must promote social inclusion. As examples, he cited actions taken and results achieved during his two terms as president of Brazil, and added that through popular participation, rulers make less mistakes and are more productive.
The former president seized the opportunity to call for reforms in multilateral bodies, such as the UN Security Council, so that they may reflect contemporary geopolitics. “In the same way that a country cannot be the property of one or another ruler, the world cannot be the property of one or another country,” he declared, along lines similar to those adopted during his entire administration.
To Lula, what is happening now in the Middle East is easier to understand “if we understand that the world needs more democracy.” “The world needs more freedom. The world needs more equality,” he stated.
He expressed his solidarity to “all of those in the Middle East and in any part of the world that are struggling for freedom, that are struggling for democracy, that are struggling for social fairness.” “It is necessary to understand that change in power is not something bad, it is a need to bring oxygen to society and to democracy,” he said.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
