THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - August 7, 2018 - Topic 2
Former President Lula’s
chances in Brazil's elections
Even by the standards of Latin America’s emotive
politics, the nomination of Brazil’s convicted former President, Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva, to contest for a third term in the October election is
sensational. The charismatic leader from the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT) has
been serving a 12-year jail sentence since April in a bribery and money-laundering case. Mr. Lula may still
have his candidacy overruled by the electoral body. But there are many factors
why that uncertainty has not deterred his party from daring to nominate him for
the country’s top job. In July, a federal judge with suspected PT sympathies
ordered Mr. Lula’s release.
Although the step was swiftly overturned, PT cadres
were quick to seize upon the momentum generated by the initially morale-raising
move. Despite the original July 2017 conviction, they have been fiercely
protesting his innocence in a bid to project his candidacy for the coming
election. A shot in the arm for the pro-Lula camp was an intervention from
influential international quarters questioning the judicial process that led to
the conviction. A number of U.S. Congressmen, besides former Presidents of
Bolivia and France and a former Spanish Prime Minister, have called for an end
to Mr. Lula’s detention. In addition, his poll ratings, at nearly 30%, are
extraordinary for someone serving a prison term. Supporters are tapping into
the perception of Mr. Lula’s innocence, and portray his persecution as a ploy
to prevent him from seeking a third term.
Against this backdrop, PT delegates have, over
the weekend, determined that, inside or out of prison, Mr. Lula is their best
bet to capture the presidency. The party president even insists there is no
Plan B, despite the considerable uncertainty over Mr. Lula being allowed to
contest. Political opponents have sought to highlight the PT’s lack of a
second-line leadership as the reason for it desperately clinging to a
compromised Mr. Lula. On the PT’s own narrative, the 2016 impeachment of former
President Dilma Rousseff was orchestrated by Opposition politicians who were
facing criminal investigations. Her successor as President and the current
incumbent, the centre-right Michel Temer, has been implicated on several
charges of corruption and obstruction of justice. Few politicians have managed
to escape the so-called Lava Jato, or Car Wash, investigations into
misappropriation of public resources. Against this backdrop, the PT is clearly
counting on Mr. Lula’s proven popularity, especially during his tenure from
2003 to 2011 when he became a global icon for his brand of welfare economics.
The centre-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party and the centrist Sustainability
Network Party have nominated as their presidential candidates Geraldo Alckmin
and Marina Silva, respectively. But Brazilians must wait a while longer for
confirmation whether Mr. Lula will make it to the final race.
Vocabulary
Emotive: arousing
or able to arouse intense feeling.
Example: Animal
experimentation is an emotive subject
Synonyms: controversial, contentious, inflammatory, sensitive, delicate
Charismatic: exercising
a compelling charm that inspires devotion in others.
Example: A
charismatic leader
Synonyms: charming, fascinating, strong
in character, magnetic, captivating
Innocence: the
state, quality, or fact of being innocent of a crime or offense.
Example: They
must prove their innocence
Synonyms: guiltlessness, blamelessness, irreproachability
Conviction: a
firmly held belief or opinion.
Example: His
conviction that the death was no accident
Synonyms: belief, opinion, view, thought, persuasion, idea, position, stance
Detention: the
action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody,
especially as a political prisoner.
Example: One
of the effects of police detention is isolation from friends and family
Synonyms: custody, imprisonment, confinement, incarceration, internment, detainment
Presidency: the
office of president.
Example: The
presidency of the US
Desperate: feeling,
showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be
impossible to deal with.
Example: A
desperate sadness enveloped Ruth
Synonyms: despairing, hopeless, anguished, distressed, wretched, desolate, forlorn
Incumbent: necessary
for someone as a duty or responsibility.
Example: It
is incumbent on all decent people to concentrate on destroying this evil
Synonyms: necessary
for one to, essential that, required that, imperative that
Confirmation: the
action of confirming something or the state of being confirmed.
Example: Sylvia
received official confirmation of the instructorship
Synonyms: corroboration, verification, proof, testimony, endorsement, authentication
