Jorge Heine’s article (Chair in Global governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, is Professor of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario) on Luiz Inacio Lula D’Silva, Brazilian President, his reforms, after his ascension and vast progress undergone by the country since then, the progress is still apace is a must read for all interested in changing international scenario. He had a humble beginning, I don’t want to call it a rag-to-riches story as that usage is befitting to another category, first as a factory worker, where in an accident lost one of his fingers, then joined the trade union movement and became an activist as a TU leader. He could very well see and understand myriad problems affecting those at the lower rungs of the society and hence possessed a compassionate heart since his early days. Those experiences contributed a lot to change and thus transform the living conditions of the poor which he still continues, in other words an ongoing process.
Jorge Heine in the course of his write-up did compare Lula to Dr. Man Mohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, while writing about the liberalization reforms introduced by both, Dr.Singh as Finance Minister in 1991 and Lula in 1993 which helped to speed up the progress on various fronts thus improving the lot of the citizens. Mr.Heine, however did go wrong here while the comparison was done.
True. Progress, immense progress did happen in India but our Prime Minister shed all his energies to the welfare of the corporate sector in the process leaving the socially backward sections in the wilderness. Their conditions remain as before and as Sitaram Yechury, leader and Polit Bureau member of Communist Party of India (Marxist) noted for the haves it is shining India and for the have-nots, a suffering India which constitute the majority of our population. He was speaking a naked truth, a painful truth and nothing but the truth in the literal sense, of what use to a country neo-liberation reforms and Globalization benefit only a few while millions and millions continue to starve. Whenever the social sector is ignored, neglected and only an elite group is taken care of extending to them massive tax concessions all the so-called progresses are equivalent to “lines drawn on water”. Such is the pathetic condition of social sector in our country now. Only a massive overhaul of the system is the need of the hour in India and unfortunately that is least expected from those in power now.
Tall talks of social reforms with practically doing nothing won’t be of any help to alleviate the hardships of those at the lower rungs of the ladder. Platitudes abound and that in that.
Lula’s Brazil is entirely different. Always keeping a compassionate approach to the poor as Lula himself had a humble beginning remember he didn’t have the opportunities of higher studies at Oxford or a prestigious post which attracted status as well as massive wealth (Brazilians are lucky, really lucky) he could very well fathom the depth of the problems of the toiling masses and that awareness alongside generosity could care equally the corporate sector as well as the social sector thus transforming the nation an emerging economic power. In the course of the write-up, Jorge Heine might not have gone through these aspects and his inadvertent lapse could be forgiven.
By the by, permit me to ask our economic pundits what about our GDP? The Sensex? Soaring hopes? That is enough and more for you people and unfortunately we the citizens are left high and dry as usual.
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