The presentations will be in Portuguese, followed by Q&A in both English and Portuguese, with translation.
The View from Brazil, presented by
Pablo Gentili, Researcher, Laboratório de Políticas Públicas and Professor, Graduate Program in Education, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Coordinator, Observatório Latinoamericano de Políticas Educativas; member of Lula's political party
The View from Portugal, presented by
Antonio Teodoro, former Secretary General and past President of the Portuguese teachers' union; Professor, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon; and Coordinator, Brazil-Portugal M.A. program in education
Discussant
Carlos Alberto Torres, Professor, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies; Director, Latin American Center and Paulo Freire Institute
The inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on New Year's Day, 2003, signaled an unprecedented personal journey from abject poverty to the presidency of Brazil. As head of the Workers' Party (PT), his convincing victory puts a left-wing government in power in Brazil for the first time ever.
In 1980 Lula brought together a combination of trade unionists, intellectuals, Trotskyites, and church activists to found the Workers' Party, the first major socialist party in the country's history. Since then the Workers' Party has gradually replaced its revolutionary commitment to changing the power structure in Brazil with a more pragmatic, social democratic platform.
Following unsuccessful bids for the presidency in 1990, 1994, and 1998, Lula understood that in order to lead the nation, his party had to form alliances that incorporated powerful economic players into the PT. His successful coalition included a small right-wing party and select business leaders from Brazil and abroad.
The PT has spent nearly twenty years building a solid national base that includes business leaders, intellectuals, landless peasants, and members of the bourgeoisie. Although the party has sometimes contained conflicting factions, it has remained committed to social justice for the poor, to encouraging grassroots participation, and to defending ethical government.
This seminar will shed light on current events in Brazil, answer questions about the inner workings of the PT, and offer a chance to discuss Brazilian politics, social movements, and popular education with three experts in the field.