Translated by Jack Gilbey
Still possessing the popularity he enjoyed during eight years of government, the former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva drew applause from an audience that packed the Place du Souvenir to hear him speak about Africa and world geopolitics. The event took place this Monday the 7th, a day dedicated to the theme of the Diaspora in the programme of the WSF 2011, which takes place until the 11th of February in Dakar. Defending the continent’s right to self-government, he put forward an international policy of development in agriculture and the eradication of famine.
Sharing the table with representatives of the African WSM, of UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and with the president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, Lula argued for the socio-economic and democratic development of the continent to move towards the heart of the international agenda. “Africa needs to become self-reliant in matters of food production, breaking the bonds of dependence on its former colonizers. You cannot self-govern without being self-reliant for food supply”. In his view, by taking a route similar to that of Brazil, with investments in stockbreeding research and technology, as well as creating appropriate policies, it would be possible to increase the productivity of the African savannah, of which only 10% of its 400 million hectares are farmed.
Lula also criticized rich countries’ agricultural subsidies which are sabotaging the steady progress of developing countries. “It is vital to change international norms of co-operation or we will never abolish famine. It is inexplicable that the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank enforce agreements that render the farming of the poor unviable. Rather than aid, Africa needs opportunity for its development. With 800 million inhabitants, this continent has incredible prospects, and these can and must be pursued”, he concluded. For Lula, demanding that this promise be fulfilled must be one of the WSF’s resolutions.
It’s the South’s turn
For Lula, it is more and more up to the peoples of the South to fulfil this potential, who demonstrate aptitude for the completion of the task. “In the last ten years, many regimes were overthrown. Those who believed in the end of history now see the unstoppable movement behind these events, which are taking place in Latin America, in Egypt and Tunisia. Millions of men and women joined the movement against oppression, against poverty and against marginalization.” The ex-president pointed out the powerlessness of rich countries during the crisis of the very core of capitalism. “They used to see the periphery as being problematic and even dangerous, but today we are part of the solution.”
Nevertheless, he added, it is not possible to substitute neo-liberalism with a primitive, conservative and authoritarian nationalism. “This is the agenda of the European and North American Right, which persecutes immigrants and the rights of workers”. In Lula’s opinion, now is the moment for the revival of “the best humanist and revolutionary traditions of the leaders of the African liberation”.
A peace culture
A fundamental attribute of this new geopolitical order is the promotion of a peace culture which, rather than “a farewell to arms”, will demand an end to inequalities, to intolerance and hunger. “As long as there are peoples in the South who are subject to daily oppression, this will not happen”.
One of the obstacles that must be overcome, according to Lula, is the creation of a socio-economically viable Palestinian state which can live in peace with Israel. “The international community is at a crossroads between conflict, and peace and the promotion of peace, prosperity and human rights, which in Africa and in the developing world are more relevant than ever”.
Finally, Lula remembered the historic debt owed by Brazil to Africa in the form of the millions of men and women who were abducted from the continent and sent as slaves across the Atlantic. “I have asked for forgiveness in the name of the Brazilian people, and the best way to repay this debt is to fight to allow Africa to become a fairer and more prosperous place”.