LULA LACKS MORAL COURAGE.

Daniel Duquenal, in his excellent blog Venezuela News And Views has given us a partial version of a CNN interview made by Fared Zakaria to Brazilian President Lula. Daniel rightly brings to light the duplicity of Lula during this interview, a duplicity that has become more and more evident as time goes by. A portion of the interview follows:

Zakaria: You are regarded as a great symbol of democracy in the Americas [more flattering comments follow] And yet some people say that you have been quiet as Hugo Chavez has hollowed out and destroyed democracy in Venezuela. You have greeted him as a friend, you have not really criticized the complete reversal of democracy in Venezuela. Why not speak out about it if Brazil wants to take a greater role in the world? Would that not be a part of it, to stand for certain values?

Lula: [during the question it was fascinating to watch Lula's face: from dead serious he put up a laughing grimace without noise, something clearly designed to hide his real thoughts and trying to ridicule the question which coming from that kind of interviewer is simply not possible to do and demeans Lula more than anything he could do to demean Zakaria] Maybe we cannot agree with Venezuela democracy. But no one can say that there is no democracy in Venezuela. [some strange and irrelevant mumblings follow about him having less years than Chavez in office and that Chavez went through so many elections while he himself went through only two]

Zakaria: Wouldn't you like to have had the advantages he has when running with the opposition muzzled, his gangs out in the streets. This is not real democracy.

Lula: We have to respect the local cultures of each country. The political traditions of each country. The political cultures of each country. Brazil has made a lot of investments in Venezuela and I believe that the US needs to get closer to Venezuela. Why so? Because I think that it would be beneficial to the US and to Venezuela.

Zakaria: How we would do that? [reminders of Chavez insults to the US follow]

Lula: [he goes on with a lot of bullshit totally irrelevant to the previous questions. Then there is a talk about generosity] With an economy the size of Brazil we have to make gestures of generosity to our neighbors because otherwise they will have the right to think that Brazil is an imperialist power, that the US is an imperialist power, because there is development in our countries and there is underdevelopment in their countries. I believe the results that we have managed to achieve are good ones, I would say for Brazil, for Latin America and for the rest of the world.

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Two of Lula's answers are particularly disgusting. In one he says: "No one can say that there is no democracy in Venezuela". Either he is a total ignorant about politics (which does not seem to be the case) or he is very cynical. The Venezuelan regime fails almost every democratic criteria: no checks and balances, no transparency, no respect for political dissidence, no accountability, pretensions of indefinite stay in power, authoritarian style. Elections, we Venezuelans know, are strongly tainted with abuse of power and multiple irregularities before, during and after the event. Lula shows a reckless disdain for the truth. Thi is the kind of answer that will ceratinly diminish his international credibility.

His second answer is even more tragic. When Zakaria mentions Chavez's abuses of power, Lula simply says: " We have to respect the political cultures of each country". If we followed Lula's advice we should have to respect and accept in silence genocide in Darfur, the crimes of Mugabe, the madness of Kim IL Sung, the cruel tyranny of Castro and the stupid antics of Chavez as expressions of the "local political culture". To hear the leader of a country like Brazil say this really puts my hair on end. Immediately after Lula blurts out the real reason, the immoral reason: "Brazil has made a lot of investments in Venezuela". There you have it! Lula is simply a Chavez crony and shares common material interests with him.

The problem with this sad posture by Lula is that he is trying to please God and the Devil (take your pick) at the same time and this is not possible in the longer term.

In my book Lula is a man without principles or moral courage.