>Lula lacked such strategy not because he was stupid, but because he
>was committed in advance to working within the
>electoral/parliamentary framework. This means, in effect, that he
>had already decided not to do anything to displease the US or its
>lending agencies.
So it was a matter of intention and will for you. Do you have any idea what it would mean for a country with large foreign financing requirements and deeply involved in foreign trade to displease the lending agencies or shock the financial markets? Do you have any idea what it means to challenge the electoral/parliamentary framework when you don't have the overwhelming support of the population? To cite a former official of Manley's treasury in Jamaica, reacting to a typical left meeting full of talk about the necessity of challenging the powers that be: "You have no idea what it's like to have to come up with $100 million in hard currency next week." Do you?
Doug