Hindi English Translation || Editorial || The second coming: On Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s win in Brazil

The second coming: On Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s win in Brazil

Lula will have to negotiate (बातचीत करना, समझौता करना) his way past Brazil’s status quoist (यथास्थिति) elites (अभिजात वर्ग)

Three years ago, he was in prison over corruption charges (आरोप, अभियोग). Today, he is the President-elect of South America’s largest country. The story of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former two-term President of Brazil and leader of the leftist (वामपंथी) Workers Party (PT), is one of the most astonishing (आश्चर्यजनक, विस्मयकारी) comebacks (वापसी) in contemporary (समकालीन, वर्तमान, आधुनिक) Latin American politics. When 99.5% of votes were counted, Lula, as he is popularly known, had won 50.9% votes, defeating the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who got 49.1%. Mr. Bolsonaro, a far-right populist who presided over (अध्यक्षता करना, प्रमुख, प्रत्यक्ष) Brazil’s rightward (towards support of rightist/conservative views) shift in the past five years, had done better than most pollsters (चुनावकर्ता) expected in the first round. But in the run-off (A runoff election is a second, or follow-up election, in which the top two vote-getters run against each other. Runoff elections occur when no candidate meets a certain threshold of votes to be declared the winner), when the voters were offered two contrasting (विपरीत, विषम, विरोधाभासी) choices — one representing a cocktail (a mixture of different things/substances) of ultra-nationalism (अति राष्ट्रवाद), conservatism (रूढ़िवाद) and free market (मुक्त बाजार) policies and the other promising (पक्का वादा, आश्वासन देना, प्रतिज्ञा करना) inclusive (with everything included, comprehensive, all-inclusive) and sustainable (defensible, justifiable, defendable, supportable, acceptable) development anchored (secure, fasten, attach, connect firmly) in social liberalism (a political philosophy founded on ideas of liberty and equality) — they chose the latter. Mr. Bolsonaro has none but himself to blame. An admirer (supporter, votary, follower) of Brazil’s brutal (gruesome, violent, bloodthirsty, bloody) military dictatorship (totalitarianism, absolute rule, autocracy), he oversaw (be in charge of, manage, administer, direct, control) a disastrous (terrible/horrible, shocking, unfortunate, ill-fated, detrimental) governmental response to COVID-19, which caused some 7,00,000 deaths, and shrinking (lessen, reduce, decrease) economic opportunities. If Mr. Bolsonaro rose to power attacking Brazil’s left, after his five years in power, for many Brazilians, the PT rule was an era (time, period, epoch) of better days. What the Brazilian Left wanted was a leader. And they got one again in Lula, after his corruption convictions (sentence, judgement, verdict) were annulled (cancel, abolish, repeal, nullify, invalidate) by the Supreme Court.

When Lula was in power between 2003 and 2010, his policies lifted (facilitate someone to escape from a difficult situation) some 25 million Brazilians out of poverty. He focused on growth and welfare (social security, government/state benefit, public assistance) and chose a cooperative model that sought coexistence (co-occurrence, conjunction, simultaneity) rather than (instead of) confrontation (clash, fight, conflict, tussle, skirmish) with the country’s aristocracy (the upper class, the elite, the high society, the ruling class, the nobility) while pushing for incremental (gradual, step-by-step, phased) redistribution. As in the past, Lula returns to power when a pink tide (the turn to the left; a political wave and perception of a turn towards left-wing governments in Latin American democracies moving away from the neoliberal economic model at the start of the 21st century) is sweeping (to win a contest/election completely) through the Americas. Most of the major countries in the continent are now ruled by Leftists. While Lula will find a favourable regional environment (circumstance, condition, situation), his biggest challenge would be to live up to (satisfy, fulfil, achieve, meet) the expectations of Brazilians. He will inherit (assume, take over, receive something (e.g. a situation & etc.) from a predecessor (previous holder of the post)) a different Brazil today. The commodity boom that funded his ambitious (formidable, difficult, challenging, demanding) welfare programme last time is no longer there. The slowdown (economic decline, recession, slump/depression) in China, Brazil’s biggest trading partner, has hurt (damage) the economy, which is expected to grow only 0.6% next year. This, along with Mr. Bolsonaro’s mismanagement (maladministration, mishandling/misconducting) and the economic effects of COVID-19, has led to a sharp rise in poverty and hunger, affecting some 33 million people. Lula would also face resistance (opposition, defiant; refusal to accept, unwillingness to accept) from a hostile (opposed, aggressive, confrontational, angry, spiteful, wrathful) Congress (a national legislative body, parliament, legislature), where conservatives still remain strong. The road ahead (the future) is bumpy (fluctuating, unstable, patchy, tumultuous, turbulent, inconsistent), but his record shows that he is a clever politician and an able (clever, talented, brilliant, skilful) administrator who might well be able to negotiate his way past Brazil’s status quoist elites to bring about (cause, create, bring in, produce, achieve) incremental changes.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.negotiate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बातचीत करना, समझौता करना
English Meaning - overcome, deal with, cope with, pass over, get past, make one’s way over (a difficult path).

2.status quoist (noun)

Hindi Meaning - यथास्थिति
English Meaning - a supporter of the status quo is called as status quoist. (status quo - the present situation, the current state, the existing state of affairs).

3.elite (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभिजात वर्ग
English Meaning - high society people; the group of most powerful people in a society; best.

4.charge (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप, अभियोग
English Meaning - accusation, allegation, indictment.

5.leftist (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - वामपंथी
English Meaning - relating to left-wing political views.

6.astonishing (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आश्चर्यजनक, विस्मयकारी
English Meaning - amazing, astounding, staggering, shocking, surprising.

7.comeback (noun)

Hindi Meaning - वापसी
English Meaning - return.

8.contemporary (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - समकालीन, वर्तमान, आधुनिक
English Meaning - present-day, current, modern.

9.preside over (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - अध्यक्षता करना, प्रमुख, प्रत्यक्ष
English Meaning - head, direct, administer, control, be in charge of, be responsible for, be accountable for.

10.pollster (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चुनावकर्ता
English Meaning - a person who does opinion polls.

11.contrasting (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विपरीत, विषम, विरोधाभासी
English Meaning - opposite, contradictory, conflicting, different, differing, dissimilar.

12.ultra-nationalism (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अति राष्ट्रवाद
English Meaning - extreme nationalism (hyper-nationalism).

13.conservatism (noun)

Hindi Meaning - रूढ़िवाद
English Meaning - (political) views/opinions that support free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas.

14.free market (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मुक्त बाजार
English Meaning - a type of economic system that is controlled by the market forces of supply and demand, as opposed to government controls that involve price-cutting monopolies. It is different from a regulated market or command economy. In the latter, a central government agency decides the supply and demand, which means the market does not operate freely. In a free market, a majority of companies and properties are owned by individuals or entities in the private sector instead of the state.

15.promise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पक्का वादा, आश्वासन देना, प्रतिज्ञा करना
English Meaning - guarantee, assure, commit oneself, swear, pledge, vow.

16.second coming (phrase)

English Meaning - (figuratively) return of someone; (literally) return of Jesus to Earth.

17.incumbent (adjective)

English Meaning - current, existing, present.

18.far-right (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the extreme right-wing of a political party or group; extremely conservative, rightist.

19.populist (noun)

English Meaning - the politicians who claim that they are representing the common/ordinary people.

20.rightward (adjective)

English Meaning - towards support of rightist/conservative views.

21.run-off (noun)

English Meaning - A runoff election is a second, or follow-up election, in which the top two vote-getters run against each other. Runoff elections occur when no candidate meets a certain threshold of votes to be declared the winner.

22.cocktail (noun)

English Meaning - a mixture of different things/substances.

23.inclusive (adjective)

English Meaning - with everything included, comprehensive, all-inclusive

24.sustainable (adjective)

English Meaning - defensible, justifiable, defendable, supportable, acceptable.

25.anchor (verb)

English Meaning - secure, fasten, attach, connect firmly.

26.liberalism (noun)

English Meaning - a political philosophy founded on ideas of liberty and equality.

27.have only yourself to blame (phrase)

English Meaning - be only responsible for a bad/unwelcome situation or condition.

28.admirer (noun)

English Meaning - supporter, votary, follower.

29.brutal (adjective)

English Meaning - gruesome, violent, bloodthirsty, bloody.

30.dictatorship (noun)

English Meaning - totalitarianism, absolute rule, autocracy.

31.oversee (verb)

English Meaning - be in charge of, manage, administer, direct, control.

32.disastrous (adjective)

English Meaning - terrible/horrible, shocking, unfortunate, ill-fated, detrimental.

33.shrink (verb)

English Meaning - lessen, reduce, decrease.

34.era (noun)

English Meaning - time, period, epoch.

35.conviction (noun)

English Meaning - sentence, judgement, verdict.

36.annul (verb)

English Meaning - cancel, abolish, repeal, nullify, invalidate.

37.lift (verb)

English Meaning - facilitate someone to escape from a difficult situation.

38.welfare (noun)

English Meaning - social security, government/state benefit, public assistance.

39.sought past tense of seek (verb)

English Meaning - try to obtain, aim, attempt.

40.coexistence (noun)

English Meaning - co-occurrence, conjunction, simultaneity.

41.rather than (noun)

English Meaning - instead of.

42.confrontation (noun)

English Meaning - clash, fight, conflict, tussle, skirmish.

43.aristocracy (noun)

English Meaning - the upper class, the elite, the high society, the ruling class, the nobility.

44.incremental (adjective)

English Meaning - gradual, step-by-step, phased.

45.pink tide (phrase)

English Meaning - the turn to the left; a political wave and perception of a turn towards left-wing governments in Latin American democracies moving away from the neoliberal economic model at the start of the 21st century.

46.sweep (verb)

English Meaning - to win a contest/election completely.

47.environment (noun)

English Meaning - circumstance, condition, situation.

48.live up to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - satisfy, fulfil, achieve, meet.

49.inherit (verb)

English Meaning - assume, take over, receive something (e.g. a situation & etc.) from a predecessor (previous holder of the post).

50.boom (noun)

English Meaning - a period of sudden/rapid economic growth.

51.ambitious (adjective)

English Meaning - formidable, difficult, challenging, demanding.