Lula’s Old Playbook Fails to Win Over Hostile Brazilian Farmers
- Agribusiness sector unmoved by record crop financing plan
- Lula troubles mount as right senses global political shift
Soybeans are harvested near Brasilia.
Photographer: Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News AgencyThis article is for subscribers only.
The record-setting crop financing plan Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva unveiled Wednesday follows a strategy that once made him one of the world’s most popular presidents: By unleashing government assistance to a vital sector, he could both boost the Brazilian economy and convert skeptics into supporters.
But 18 months into his second stint as the country’s leader, it’s a playbook that is proving inadequate in such a polarized and ideologically-charged political moment.