Brazilian President for U.N. Chief? Hopefully Not
Andres Oppenheimer
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A short news item in
Until now, the conventional wisdom was that
That's probably true. But the Veja report -- stating that Lula "has been sounded out by more than one person to be a
candidate for U.N. Secretary General in 2011" -- is adding a new element to the puzzle of what's behind
In recent days, Lula has made some shocking statements that are hard to understand coming from a former union leader
who opposed military dictatorships. In an interview with
Lula, who recently visited
Days earlier, Lula had reiterated his decision to visit
Lula gave
In addition,
Does Lula have a chance of becoming U.N. Secretary General?
Most diplomats say current Secretary General
"Lula's name would be an honor to
Others noted that, if for some reason Ban decided not to run, Asian countries may want to have one of their own diplomats at the job for another five years, in keeping with the tradition that each region gets a two-term mandate. And many point out that Lula doesn't speak English or French, a major obstacle for a candidate to the top U.N. job.
My Opinion:
Most likely, Ban will get a second term, even if many countries would want a higher-profile U.N. chief. Lula is more likely to be offered the job of head of the
Lula would be a perfect candidate for that position because of his successful "Fome Zero" anti-hunger program in
Granted, Lula may find that job too small, but -- considering his awful human rights stands -- it would be the perfect place for him.
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