Lula: Latin America is experiencing a "progressive" moment.

In a meeting with Peru's president-elect, Ollanta Humala, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated the election of the Peruvian leftist and said that, unlike Europe, Latin America is experiencing a progressive wave for the first time in five centuries. "While in Europe there is a 'rightward shift' in the political-electoral process, where conservatives are occupying the spaces, in Latin America progressive sectors are occupying the spaces," said the former president, considering Humala's success a victory for the entire Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

"Ten years ago it was just Chávez, eight years ago it was Chávez and Lula, then Chávez and Kirchner, then Tabaré Vázquez, then Evo Morales, then Correa, Daniel Ortega, Mauricio Funes and now, comrade Ollanta," he listed, referring to the presidents-elect, in order, of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Peru. With his "fluent" Portuñol (a mix of Portuguese and Spanish), Lula participated in a 50-minute press conference alongside the Peruvian president, who yesterday met with President Dilma Rousseff in Brasília. They met at a hotel in Jardins, an upscale neighborhood in São Paulo, in a room where a Peruvian flag and a Brazilian flag were displayed. "If Ollanta comes to power and is a failure, we are defeated," assessed the former Brazilian president.

Since leaving the presidency, Lula had not given so many statements to journalists. But, for the new Peruvian government, the meeting with Lula was fundamental for Ollanta's image, since the president-elect is viewed with suspicion by some sectors of his country due to his relationship with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. When asked by Peruvian journalists if Ollanta would be the Peruvian Lula, the Brazilian replied: "He will be the Peruvian Ollanta." The president-elect, however, avoided admitting that Lula was his political inspiration, and not Chávez. "Governments have their own paths. The path is to learn and not to copy," he retorted.

Lula didn't miss the opportunity to take a jab at the U.S. government. According to the former president, the United States still sees Latin America as the poor relation. "The United States cannot see South America and Latin America as the poor cousin, as a problem. We are the solution," he said.

Although PT (Workers' Party) advisors worked directly on Ollanta's campaign, Lula said he cheered for Ollanta from afar and that the only contact he had with the Peruvian was in February, when they talked about presidential campaigns in Brazil and the experience learned from Lula's defeats. "He (Ollanta) was faster and more competent than me," Lula joked, referring to his defeats before his victory in 2002.

Economic sectors

In an attempt to calm Peru's economic sectors, Lula recalled that he went through the same experience in 2002, when he was elected for his first term. "History repeats itself. The same people who put pressure on Ollanta were putting pressure on us here," he said. "I think the time of doubt for the Peruvian people is over," he added. Lula said that Latin America was used to having leaders who governed for a minority and that this situation has changed. "When you give US$1 million to the rich, it becomes a bank account and speculation. When you give US$10 to the poor, that becomes food," he taught the newly elected president.

During his meeting with Ollanta, Lula advised the Peruvian on how to implement a federal plan to combat poverty. The former president recommended that Ollanta create a census of the population to be served and that he not be afraid to copy successful programs implemented in other countries, including Venezuela. "There is no ghost of Hugo Chávez; we must respect Peruvian history. If there is anything extraordinary in Venezuela, it can be used, but the way of governing will be the Peruvian way," he countered.

During the Peruvian campaign, Ollanta said he would model his development on the Brazilian model. When asked by Peruvian journalists how to have a socially oriented government without being populist, Lula recommended to a Peruvian journalist that she spend more time in Brazil to learn about its social programs. "You will get a true picture of what will happen in Peru," he suggested.

At the end of the meeting, Lula wished the Peruvian good luck. "May the poor people of Peru be able to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day," he stated. "The fewer poor people there are in Peru, the more people will earn money."