BRAZIL: Mayor's murder indicates political polarisation

February 20, 2002
Issue 

BY BEN REID

PORTO ALEGRE — The second World Social Forum occurred at an important time in Brazilian politics. On January 19 Celso Daniel, mayor of Santo Andre in Sao Paulo state, was found murdered. Daniel is the second mayor belonging to the leftist Workers Party (PT) to be murdered in five months.

While the culprits have not been identified, many activists believe the murders are political and are an indication of the increasing political polarisation in Brazil.

Daniel's death is the latest in a steadily escalating wave of political violence. The violence, previously centred more on social movements such as the Landless Workers Movement, has escalated to the point where elected officials from the left are increasingly targets.

The PT responded to the killing with a series of mass mobilisations. Some 100,000 people mobilised for a funeral procession and rally in Sao Paulo alone.

The violence has escalated as the government of President Fernando Cardosso has lapsed increasingly into crisis. Cardosso was elected president in 1994 on the strength of the economic program he implemented while a member of the previous government.

The introduction of a new currency — the real — tied to the value of the US dollar succeeded in ending the hyper-inflation that had constantly occurred through the 1980s.

In 1998 an economic crisis forced the devaluation of the real. The crisis, combined with revelations of widespread corruption in the government, resulted in a wave of electoral victories for the PT and other opposition candidates. Celso Daniel was one of 171 PT mayors elected in 1999.

The PT's likely presidential candidate, Luis "Lula" Inacio da Silva, has up to 38% support in opinion polls — well above any other candidate. Following Daniel's murder, Lula stated that "we have strong suspicion that murders are politically motivated. Some forces are attempting [to] intimidate the PT [to] sow confusion and fear. We will not be intimidated from continuing to voice our opposition to the [Cardosso] government".

From Green Left Weekly, February 20, 2002.
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