Former shoeshine boy first elected leftist president of Brazil
With 99.4% of the ballots from Sunday's second-round presidential elections counted, Silva had 61.3% and ruling party candidate Jose Serra 38.7%. Thousands thronged the streets of Sao Paulo, waving the red flags of Silva's Workers Party amid booming fireworks and the throb of music from a live band playing over giant loudspeakers. Some also hoisted the hammer-and-sickle of the Communist Party, which had supported Silva.
The right-wing party of Silva's running mate, Jose Alencar, as well as the country's bankers and industrialists associations, also welcomed Silva's victory. Silva a school dropout with a fifth-grade education will have to perform a juggling act after his January 1 inauguration for a four-year term. He must try to pull more than 50 million Brazilians from poverty, save the world's ninth largest economy from recession, foster job creation and increase housing, medical care and education, while maintaining fiscal responsibility and the confidence of Brazil's creditors and investors. Standing by a huge banner with the words "Hope Will Overcome Fear", the celebrants listened to Silva, his words echoing down Avenida Paulista, Sao Paulo's main avenue.
"So far, it has been easy," Silva said. "The hard part begins now. We will work around the clock to fulfil every one of our campaign promises."
In an interview with Brazil's Globo TV, he reiterated that his administration would honour Brazil's foreign debt, but said lending institutions and the international community "must know that we cannot have people suffering from hunger every day."
Silva's victory represents a chance for a resurgence of leftist politics in a continent where except for Venezuela it seemed in danger of atrophying.
"This is our opportunity to consolidate our hopes for a Brazil which should be more just, and needs to care more about the needs of the people," Marcos Xavier, a university professor, shouted as he stood amid the throng of Silva supporters on Sao Paulo's main avenue.
US president George Bush said through his spokesman that he "looks forward to working productively with Brazil." However, relations with Washington may become testy. Silva has said he doesn't accept the shape Bush wants to give to an envisioned free-trade zone extending from Alaska to Argentina. Silva wants US markets more open to Brazilian orange juice, steel and sugar. He also opposes the presence of US military trainers in Colombia and the US embargo against Cuba.
The son of a poor farmer, Silva is a model for the impoverished millions of Brazil, which is almost the size of the US. While having limited education, Silva is widely regarded as being smart.
In a Sao Paulo slum, or favela, pro-Silva sentiment was prevalent as people lined up to vote: "He was the only one as a metalworker union leader who helped the poor," said Nelson Luiz da Silva Pelotti, 56, a retired metalworker.
Silva, who turned 57 on election day, will appoint a team this week to ensure a smooth transition from the government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who served two terms and was barred from seeking a third.
He is expected to come up with some novel initiatives, including a super-ministry to take oversee housing, urban sanitation and transportation. He also reportedly plans to promote to Cabinet level government agencies that deal with hunger, security and racism. Brazil has never elected a left-wing president. Its last one was Joao Goulart, a vice president who assumed power in 1961 when the centre party president resigned. Goulart served 24 years and was eventually deposed by a right-wing military coup.
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