Lula wins presidency again in Brazil, a key agriculture producer
 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former leftist president of Brazil, has been re-elected, defeating President Jair Bolsonaro, whose right-wing policies have included encouraging agricultural production in Amazonian areas.The United States and Brazil have many interactions on agricultural and food policies. They are often united on agricultural policy in international arenas, but also are competitors in world markets, particularly in the soybean market.Brazil also produces so much sugar its production sets world sugar prices. And under da Silva’s presidency, Brazil developed a “zero hunger” policy inspired in part by the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Although Bolsonaro’s supporters questioned whether the election results were accurate, the Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post all reported that Brazilian election authorities said that da Silva had won the election. The Times said that da Silva won 50.83% of the votes, versus Bolsonaro’s 49.17% with 98.81% of the vote counted Sunday night. The Times also noted that it was the first time an incumbent president failed to win re-election in the 34 years of Brazil’s modern democracy, but that da Silva won with the narrowest margin of victory over that same period, signaling the deep divide that he will confront as president.President Biden late Sunday congratulated da Silva on winning the Brazilian presidential election.“ I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair, and credible elections. I look forward to working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years ahead,” Biden said in a statement. –The Hagstrom Report |
