Armínio Fraga was the commander of the consolidation phase of the Real Plan — the last serious thing done in Brazil.
For the first time in 12 years, the comrades see the real possibility of having to relinquish power. Not even the masterpiece of the mensalão scandal on the eve of the 2006 election had threatened the hegemony of the poor over the white elite. A month before the vote, polls emerge indicating that the PT is no longer the favorite to remain entrenched in the Planalto Palace. Total despair.
One can imagine the frenzied activity in the centers of these deranged dossiers. The dark past of Dilma Rousseff's adversaries will surely surface on Wikipedia. We'll soon discover that they were the ones who made Amarildo disappear, who plundered Petrobras, who coached the national team against the Germans. It's a matter of life or death: as is known, the leftist elite will have serious difficulties surviving if they have to work. They will "do anything," as the president said, to win the election and not lose control of the system.
Brazil has just witnessed a plane crash over the PT's electoral stronghold. When questioned about the investigations into the legal status of the crashed aircraft, Dilma responded that she is not "following that," and that the matter is not of her "deep interest." Highly consistent. If the president and her political mentor did not "follow" the tragedies of the popular government—the mensalão scandal, Rosemary, and a large cast of others—there would be no reason for them to have a "deep interest" in a tragedy that came from abroad. They always pretended everything was fine, and the people believed them; there's no reason to accuse them of being overwhelmed now. Plane? What plane?
It's best to keep throwing paper seagulls to distract the public. Even the decorative Finance Minister was called upon to throw his. Guido Mantega, like Dilma and the entire troop, is a Lula militant. The son of Brazil orders, they fire. Mantega even presented a manipulated graph relating the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program) to the GDP—an intellectual swindle that Brazil, as always, swallowed. Now the strongman (?) of the comrade economy enters the campaign to say that Armínio Fraga disregarded the inflation targets. A pornographic seagull.
To cut a long story short, it suffices to say that Armínio Fraga was one of the men who built what Mantega and his gang have been trying to destroy for years. Including the inflation target. Armínio was the commander of the consolidation phase of the Real Plan—the last serious thing done in Brazil—facing the devastating effects of the Russian crisis, which would have reduced the national economy to dust if it had been in the hands of one of those boastful, self-important figures. Mantega and his associated patrons owe the easy life they've led for the last 12 years to Armínio Fraga and the implementers of the Real Plan. And it must be truly agonizing to suspect for the first time that this easy life is about to end.
If electoral debates had any connection to reality, it would suffice to invite colleagues to cite one measure they authored that helped structure the Brazilian economy. Just one. But it's no use, because, since the electorate is easily fooled, the PT supporters only need to say—as they have been doing for the last decade—that they saved Brazil from Fernando Henrique's inflation. Dilma herself was elected in 2010 with this dark humor, and never became ridiculous for it. With the fraud duly endorsed by the distinguished public, Guido Mantega can compare himself to Armínio Fraga and enter his house without having to hide his face.
Amidst the ornamental proposals, Armínio is, in fact, the concrete fact of the presidential race so far. No poetry, no "new politics," no heralds of "change"—a concept as specific as "happiness," which delights the eyes of the ignorant and the plunderers of good. Armínio is not a third, fourth, or fifth way, nor the magical mediator between the past and the future. He is an economist tested and approved on the government front, who will not remain in the Ministry of Finance transforming pamphlets into seagulls.
The PSDB, like other parties, loves to sell fairy tales. But its candidate, Aécio Neves, decided to announce his main minister beforehand. That's the subtle difference between commitment and empty talk.
Marina Silva is also good news. The mere fact that she is an upright person already offers a valuable counterpoint to the charlatanism disguised as kindness. It's never too late for feminism to cure the hangover of the last four years. What a Marina government would look like, however, even she doesn't know. If she fulfills Eduardo Campos' promise and pushes the PMDB SA into the opposition, which major party would provide her political support? Look around and consider, with shudders, the most likely scenario: the PT itself—ready for change, with all the trimmings.
Marina comes from the PT (Workers' Party) and is now in the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party), whose ideology would terrify even José Dirceu's wildest Cuban dream. And trying to govern above party lines is what Collor did. What forces, after all, would guarantee Marina's virtues?
The red elite is ready to turn green.
