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The election of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has raised great expectations on the center-left. For most leftist writers, his election heralded a new epoch of progressive changes which, while not revolutionary, defined the end of neo-liberalism.
Noted progressive religious figures, like Leonardo Boff, announced imminent change which would challenge U.S. hegemony and lead to great popular participation. Frei Betto, a close associate of Lula, launched a vitriolic attack on critics who questioned some of Lulas appointments citing his popular roots as a former metal worker and union leader a quarter of a century earlier.
Left-wing members of the Workers Party, Olivo Dutra and Tarso Genero, appointed to minor ministerial positions in Lulas cabinet called for the disciplining (expulsion or silencing) of a dissident PT Senator Heloisa who objected to the PTs support for right-wing Senator Jose Sarney as President of the Senate. European, U.S. and Latin American progressives and leftists and their movements, NGOs, parties and journals joined the celebration of the Lula Presidency and his progressive agenda and his leadership in the fight against neo-liberalism and globalization…