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Lula and The Worker’s Party in Brazil win the Presidency.This was of landslide proportions: A 61-39 margin of victory. That's pretty radical. A sign of the times?

What do we make of this resurgence of the Liberal stalwart Mondale here in the US, amidst the rout by the left in Brazil. Well, that seems to be just a coincidence. We live in a global society though; this event, and the Green-Democrat coalition winning last month in Germany, are not isolated instances. They are strong indicators of a backlash toward an hegemonic-like capitalism and militarism.

Politics, like every thing else, moves in cycles; but don't just sit back and watch the conservatives unravel around the globe, do something about it; help them unwind, vote! And tell five others to vote. Strange, exciting times.

Brazil has never elected a leftist president. "Lula" Silva was defeated three times, in 1989, 1994 and 1998 before winning this weekend. He won the primary easily, nearly avoiding a run-off; this was never really close (kind of like every single incumbent Democrat facing a Republican challenger in the US House):

Voters clamouring for change made their way by foot, car or boat to electronic ballot boxes; the country of 170 million cast their ballots from the concrete jungles of the south to Amazon outposts.... Brazil's next president will have to pull the world's ninth-biggest economy from the brink of recession, create more jobs and try to lift nearly 50 million Brazilians from poverty.

Silva first ran for president in 1989 as the candidate of the Workers Party, urging landless farm workers to invade private property and calling for a default on Brazil's foreign debt, which now stands at $230 billion. However, in the three subsequent presidential campaigns, Silva moderated his radical tone.

Before having to deal with the populist revolt from not fulfilling their dreams of equalilty, he's got a divided government to get a handle on. As for the IMF-laden debt, sounds like he's going along with the failures of the past, in wanting to secure another $30.4 billion International Monetary Fund bailout loan; jeez, no wonder Forbes doesn't seem to mind.

In NY this year, the Working Families Party's is expecting to have some success as a Counterforce in NY, on the left of the Democratic Party.

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