MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula da Silva’s party fearful of “Brazilian sub-imperialism” and arrogance

Marco Aurelio Garcia, the brains behind the promised “Great Transformation”.

Brazil “sub-imperialism”, the arrogance of Brazilian businessmen and a more left wing approach for a future government of the ruling Workers Party, PT, are some of the points of the document to be considered next week at the party’s convention that must nominate the candidate for October’s presidential campaign and supposedly the heir of Lula da Silva.

“For a dynamic regional development policy to be well received and understood by neighbouring countries we need to eliminate the fear of ‘Brazilian sub-imperialism”, points out the text under the pompous name of “The Great Transformation” which was analyzed over the weekend by PT leaders.

The document is to be considered by the IV Congress of the party this coming week when the government program to be presented to the electorate next October election will be receiving its final draft.

The Congress is expected to nominate cabinet chief, Dilma Rousseff (hand picked by Lula da Silva) as the Workers Party’s presidential candidate. Her running mate in the ticket most probably will come from the PMDB, Brazil’s party with the largest congressional representation and member of the ruling coalition.

The document also has strong words towards the “arrogant and predatory” attitude of Brazilian corporations overseas, which “threatens” South American integration. Last year Brazilian construction companies were seriously questioned in Bolivia and Ecuador where President Rafael Correa claimed several Brazilian top managers were involved in acts of corruption.

PT decisively supports the strengthening of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) and criticizes the United States regional policy as an “exhibition of brute force”. Brazil is involved in a regional “low intensity” power struggle with United States and this “confrontation” could be in the increase, points out the document.

In a near future Washington could consider Brazil’s foreign policy a “threat” for the US adds the document which nevertheless indicates that Brazil must avoid been seen as acting with a “sub-imperialist” style.

Finally PT chairman Ricardo Berzoini said that the “program for the next PT government is more to the left of President Lula da Silva, but it is not left wing”.

He added “this program means we can achieve all those more ambitious social goals because the major macro-economic issues such as internal debt have already been solved or on the way to be overcome”

According to O Estado de Sao Paulo, the drafting of the platform “The Great Transformation” for a future PT government was coordinated by Marco Aurelio Garcia, President Lula da Silva’s foreign affairs main advisor.

“Brazil is no longer the for ever country of the future. The future has arrived and after Lula da Silva comes Dilma”, reads the document which promises that a future Rousseff administration “would privilege the strengthening of the State and its democratization through the creation of high quality, selected bureaucracy promoted on the basis of merits criteria”.