NY Times: Brazil's President, Once a Dark Horse, Describes Bright Present

[La_Serpiente]

Brazil's President, Once a Dark Horse, Describes a Bright Present

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, Dec. 18 — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, defending the unpopular pro-market policies he once demonized but which have marked his first year in office, said on Thursday that the sacrifices Brazilians had made this year would be repaid with sustained economic growth.

Summing up his first 12 months as president, Mr. da Silva, the first working-class Brazilian to win the office, said his government had been forced to resort to old-fashioned fiscal discipline to stave off the economic collapse that loomed at the start of his administration.

Panicked by Mr. da Silva's past as a fiery labor leader, traders sent Brazilian bonds and the currency tumbling last fall. Banks shut off credit lines to companies, leaving the country all but dependent on support from the International Monetary Fund.

When Mr. da Silva took office Jan. 1, he surprised many by choosing a market-friendly economic team that promptly reined in galloping inflation by raising interest rates and cutting more than $4 billion from the government budget.

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Brazil's President, Once a Dark Horse, Describes a Bright Present

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