MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Top French sociologist fears a “populist” temptation in Brazil’s new government

Alain Touraine, Director of Paris Social Sciences School of Advanced Studies.

Brazilian president-elect Dilma Rousseff was a creation of President Lula da Silva and could fall prey to the temptation of a populist system, said French Sociologist and political scientist Alain Touraine currently visiting Sao Paulo.

“I’m not necessarily optimistic about a government led by Ms Rousseff; we don’t know what’s going to happen from now onwards, the new president was invented by Lula da Silva”, said Touraine who is Director of Paris Social Sciences School of Advanced Studies.

The French political scientist also questioned the possible return of outgoing president Lula da Silva and the ruling Workers Party in 2014.

“The idea that Dilma will be looking after the chair for Lula da Silva during four years did not please me; there are no such things as an interim president in democratic systems”, he underlined.

Touraine said Brazil has a long tradition of populism and the populist threat is always present because of “the extreme social inequality in the country, and I see risks of a possible back-stepping because the ruling Workers party past is far from perfect; Lula da Silva is no authoritarian but segments of his party certainly are”.

The French professor said that Brazil has a terrible political and parties system, corrupt in all the extent of the Word. However he did acknowledge that former president Henrique Fernando Cardoso, during his eight years in office, built the democratic institutions and managed a “perfect transition” on handing the presidential sash to elected Lula da Silva in 2002.