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Opinion

After Fall of a Brazilian Leader, Expect Chaos for U.S. Ally

Washington should capitalize on the receding "pink tide" as leftists depart.
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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, right, once seemed promising for Latin America.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, right, once seemed promising for Latin America.

 Photographer: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images

When I first met Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, he seemed larger than life, despite his somewhat compact stature. Now, even in disgrace, the former Brazilian president remains a towering figure in Latin America’s future, and a serous complication in American foreign policy south of the border. 

That introduction to Lula came in 2005, when I was senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld. We spent over an hour with him in the capital, Brasilia. There were important topics on the table, ranging from Brazil’s laudable role in leading the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti to stopping the flow of narcotics in the region.