International
Lula puts diverse new face on Brazil government
January 6th | By AFP |
Brazil’s new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held his first cabinet meeting Friday, getting down to the business of “rebuilding” and “reunifying” the country after his divisive election battle with far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
The veteran leftist’s new government looks radically different from Bolsonaro’s, with 11 women, five blacks and two Indigenous ministers — a break with the previous administration, which was dominated by white men and military generals.
Here is a look at five key figures in the new government.
Finance novice
Lula, 77, ignored market pressure and named a political pick for finance minister: Fernando Haddad, a longtime ally who ran for president for his Workers’ Party (PT) in 2018.
The choice has not exactly thrilled the business world: stocks in Latin America’s biggest economy fell more than three percent Monday on the first business day of Lula’s term, with investors nervous over how he will fund his promised social spending, given Brazil’s already overstretched government finances.
Haddad, 59, a lawyer who previously served as education minister and Sao Paulo mayor, has sought to send a message of fiscal discipline.
“We’re not here to go on big-spending adventures,” he said Monday at his swearing-in. “We’re here to ensure the economy resumes growing to meet the population’s needs in health, education and social programs, while guaranteeing fiscal balance and sustainability.”
Environmental crusader
Marina Silva, a veteran environmentalist, faces the huge job of rebuilding Brazil’s environmental protection agencies and stanching the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, which surged under Bolsonaro.
The diminutive but fiery 64-year-old environment minister, who rose from a childhood of poverty in the Amazon to become a respected activist and politician, vowed Wednesday as she took office to ensure Brazil “stops being an international pariah” on climate issues.
Environmental groups are calling for her to take urgent, decisive action — and for Lula to give her the power to do so.
The two had a falling-out when she previously served as environment minister during his first presidency. She quit in 2008 after disagreements with his pro-development policies in the Amazon.
‘Rebuilding bridges’
Career diplomat Mauro Vieira, 71, says his task as Brazil’s new foreign minister is to “rebuild the country’s bridges with the world.”
Brazil is coming off four years of mounting isolation under Bolsonaro, who cultivated close ties with former US president Donald Trump but alienated many of Brazil’s traditional partners, especially Europe and China.
Lula has vowed to renew Brazil’s traditional multilateralism, especially on climate issues — though he has also raised eyebrows in the West with some comments, such as saying Ukraine bears equal blame for its war with Russia.
Vieira, a respected foreign service veteran, previously served as foreign minister under ex-president Dilma Rousseff from 2015 to 2016.
He took office Monday vowing: “Brazil is back.”
Northeastern connection
Lula, who won the October election thanks to overwhelming support in Brazil’s impoverished northeast, has named four former governors from the region to his cabinet.
One of the most powerful figures in his administration will be Justice Minister Flavio Dino, 54, former governor of the northeastern state of Maranhao, who ran in 2015-2022.
A former judge, Dino was a vocal Lula spokesman during the transition period, condemning “unacceptable terrorism” by far-right hardliners refusing to accept the election result, after a Bolsonaro supporter was arrested for planting a tanker truck rigged with explosives near the Brasilia airport.
Minorities, ‘you exist’
New Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida, a 46-year-old black lawyer and public intellectual, turned heads on his first day in office with an impassioned speech that underlined the new administration’s break with the Bolsonaro years.
Speaking to groups that complained of being marginalized, discriminated against or ignored under Bolsonaro — including blacks, women, the disabled and the LGBT community — he repeated over and over: “You exist, and you are valuable to us.”
The speech drew loud cheers and went viral online, cementing Almeida’s status as a rising star in Brazilian politics.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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