Last night I found myself in the ornate circumstance of the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall. I also found myself too in the midst of a tectonic shift in the new world order.
For this was an event in which the old world of European kings and queens were making way for a citizen of the new world. The man the old world was celebrating was Brazil’s President Lula de Silva.
The bibs and tuckers around the hall – and it was crammed with businessmen, lawyers, bankers and the rest – gave all the impression of supplicants at the great man’s table.
Lula – bearded and younger looking than his 64 years. Charismatic with a real twinkle in his eye, he cut a forceful and persuasive dash as he picked up the Chatham House Prize – a kind of micro Nobel Peace Prize awarded by the UK diplomatic think tank.
His speech majored on climate change and clean energy, but it also made the plea for the world’s 10th largest economy to have its rightful place at the world’s top table – a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
It was a good speech – talked of Brazil’s renewal depending upon the renewal of Latin America itself. Talked too of Brazil’s strength flowing not from its massive new deep sea oil deposits, but from its sustainable energy supplies from sugar cane and its new found determination to sustain the Amazon rain forest at all cost (a campaign likely to prove one of the few tangible outcomes from the Copenhagen climate change summit).
As he delivered his speech I noticed the missing little finger from his left hand – lost in an industrial accident in 1960.
Lula’s life is an extraordinary story from peanut seller and shoes shine boy who grew up in great poverty, to the leader of the huge Metal Workers’ Union and thence in 2002 to the democratically elected president of a country that had basked in its unfair share of corruption and military dictatorship.
Brazil, for all its inequality and development challenges, is a power house of a nation that has come of age. Its thrusting growth is an opportunity for British business. But the headsets listening to the English translation of Lula’s Portuguese spoke volumes of Britain’s lack of readiness to engage.
We shall be hearing much more of Brazil on Channel 4 News in the weeks to come. Can’t yet tell you why, but you won’t be disappointed.
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Over to to Jon live from the Amazon rain forest in Brazil?
If our “leaders” have got any sense what so ever then the Amazon deforestation issue will be at the forefront of the Copenhagen summit..
adzmundo CND
JS: ’saving the rainforest’ – yeh, all 5 square inches of it.
How long before we flaccid Westerners start claiming it had something to do with us?
We never lose. If there’s an argument going, we make sure we get the lifestyle and the moral whiphand.
It is in the 1960,s when I was taking GCE geography that I remember GB trying to make links with Brazil. We were taught about the ever expanding Rio and the mountains directly behind the then capital which didn’t allow for expansion.
With the relocation of the capital to Brasilia communications were to improve and our interest in South American affairs financial and social escalate.
It has taken 40 years to get to a position where it will be a powerhouse for business in the UK. I have waited and longed to visit Brasil since sitting behind that desk writing Rio/ Brasilia on my ruler……tis good to see that dream coming into fruition..
The emphasis should change.
We should be talking about re-forestation, not de-forestation.
We need to be re-planting what has already been lost…
A guy with a Portugeuse name speaking in Portugeuse still sounds a bit “old World” to me.
However, great to read about it. He has made some quite sensible comments in the past. Brazil’s come a long way since Colonel Fawcett’s adventure’s up the Amazon.
please note that: the world is shifting but is not about this subject..
yesterday british soldiers were killed in afganistan by an afgan trainee policeman/soldier.. today similar events in the US??.. the world is shifting.. terrorism is shifting into a more intelligent way.. beyond natural control… to me looks like there is a link between events.. it is hard to understand and accept but terrorists are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent.. you can buy intelligence in a world that is up for sale.. money is printable.. can you (John) look into this hypothesis???
[...] In the midst of a tectonic shift in the new world order – [...]
If industry is to expand in Brazil, isn’t it the ideal chance to incorporate all the green measures possible to demonstrate to the world what is possible.
That includes planting and conservation, but surely the use of green bio oil synthesised from algae, hydro electric power, solar power, nuclear power( in moderation ) could encapsulate future aspirations.
Being impressed with our own Eden project, could this not be transposed to be in tune with other areas of the world where certain natural resources are lacking .?
Microcosms of fertility , by the virtue of investment in the green industry might be a solution to many of the worlds green problems.How much did the eden project cost to start,?
Imagine recycling water and moisture to be used again and again, no waste ..an almost renewable resource, controlled CO2 emissions, centres of learning to acquire future information. What are we shilly shallying for?
While the “Europe’s kings & queens” remark is rather silly & ignores the last century of history it is important to note that the BRICK (Brazil, Russia, India, China & Korea) economies & indeed most of the world have been greatly outperforming western ones. World average growth has been 5%, China & India managing 10% annually while Grodon Brown has faced no serious opposition in claiming our 2.5% was an achievement. In the current “world recession” which isn’t, China’s growth has dropped to 8% & ours to -4%.
The fact is that we could be achieving that 10% rate any time our political leaders decided to allow it. The fact that the economy is being artificailly destroyed by government controls of everything, particularly any modern technology, could not fail to be major news if our media were something other than an instrument of statist propaganda.
Brazil….I spent a year there 25 years ago.Back then it was the 6th biggest industrial nation,and Sao Paolo was heading for 20 mln inhabitants.A totally sweet and sour nation.I devoured it,but it was in truth a shameless playground of a vain affluent few (unbelievable cosmetic surgery rate !) who gorged on the undoubted riches of the country whilst turning a blind eye to the shocking poverty and crime so prevalent.It was the architypal boom and bust economy.Lula to his credit,has made the most of the moment handed to him (western economic morass) and has undeniable gravitas,but I can only hope you can illustrate a society changed from one nurturing just the priviledged few,whilst dismissing the needs of the desperate masses living a stones throw away ! Obrigado.
As far as i can see the problem is not carbon emissions but the destruction of the forests and woodlands.The world needs wood but as we cut it down it needs to be replaced.Destruction ruins environments ,eventually ruins the soils , leaves less trees to soak up the carbon.We are destroying the planet by decimating the woodlands
re my last comments.The time team project on bodmin moor last night, shows that destruction of the planet has been going on for thousands of years,and was nothing to do with global warming , but with destruction of the forests for farming, which led to destruction of the soil creating a barren useless landscape
I will be very dissapointed if you have gone to Brazil and you havn’t invited all the faithful bloggers to go with you..
No Brazilian Coffee bean women for you I will send Michael Caine to keep an eye on things and play Gooseberry.
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