US embassy cable - 05BRASILIA2174

UNCLAS BRASILIA 002174 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, SOCI, PREL, BR 
SUBJECT: DEATH OF BRAZILIAN CONGRESSMAN MIGUEL ARRAES 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY.  Federal Deputy Miguel Arraes de Alencar, 88, 
founder of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) and three time 
state governor, died on August 13 of a pulmonary infection in 
Recife, Pernambuco state.  National president of the PSB and 
allied with President Lula da Silva's governing coalition, 
Arraes' biography and opposition to the military regime 
earned him respect and admiration in his home state of 
Pernambuco, and made him a prominent leftist public figure in 
Brazilian modern political history.  Approximately 15 
thousand people went to the Campo das Princesas Palace, the 
Pernambuco Governor's mansion, to pay their last respects. 
The crowd enthusiastically applauded President Lula da Silva 
when he arrived in Recife to attend the funeral, while Sao 
Paulo mayor Jose Serra--possible opposition candidate in the 
2006 presidential election--was booed.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ARRAES: A LEFTIST ICON 
----------------------- 
2.  (U) On August 13, Brazil lost one of its leftist icons 
and an eminent political personality in its modern history. 
Miguel Arraes, an 88 year-old politician from Pernambuco 
state, died of a pulmonary infection in Recife, closing the 
final chapter of a political life associated with the rise 
and fall of Brazil's left.  In 1934, at the age of 18, Arraes 
started working at the Alcohol and Sugar Institute, where he 
met Barbosa Lima Sobrinho, a prominent writer and journalist 
who would become Governor of Pernambuco.  Upon winning 
election to the state house in 1947, Sobrinho invited Arraes 
to become his Finance Secretary, the impetus for Arraes' 
extensive political career.  He soon rose to the top of 
Pernambuco's state politics, being elected State Deputy 
(1950-1954, 1954-1958), Mayor of Recife (1959-1962), Governor 
(1963-1964, 1987-1990, 1995-1998), and Federal Deputy 
(1989-1987, 1991-1995, 2003-2005). 
 
3.  (U) Arraes' first gubernatorial term was characterized by 
populist measures and support for the so-called Peasant 
League that occupied land to press the government for 
agrarian reform and is considered a precursor of today's 
Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST).  However, his first 
gubernatorial term was cut short in 1964 by a 
"cinematographic" coup: heavily-armed military troops 
surrounded the Governor's Palace and demanded Arraes' 
resignation.  In a memorable "I'd rather go to jail than 
betray the people" stance, the governor was arrested and sent 
into exile in Algeria, where he stayed until 1979, when the 
regime declared an amnesty for exiles.  Upon his return to 
Brazil, Arraes took part in the foundation of the PMDB party 
and launched his second gubernatorial term.  By the end of 
the 1980's, Arraes, dissatisfied with the PMDB for what he 
called a lack of a party project for the development of the 
country, founded the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB).  In 
1994, he became governor of Pernambuco for the third and last 
time. 
 
THE PSB PARTY 
------------- 
4.  (U) Following his third gubernatorial term, Arraes 
attempted--for the fourth time--to gain a seat in the state 
house, but was defeated by long-time PMDB member Jarbas 
Vasconcelos.  During his campaign, Arraes publicly announced 
he would be defeated by Vasconcelos, which was interpreted by 
many as an attempt to strengthen his image of a political 
martyr who suffers for the people and for his principles.  In 
2003, Arraes returned to the political scene as a Federal 
Deputy and national president of the PSB, which nationwide 
includes one cabinet member--Science and Technology Minister 
Sergio Rezende, three Governors (Note: Rio de Janeiro 
Governor Rosinha Matheus and her husband, presidential 
aspirant Anthony Garotinho, were expelled from the party in 
August 2004 and joined the PMDB.  End Note.), three Senators, 
and seventeen Federal Deputies.  According to newspapers 
reports, Eduardo Campos, former Science and Technology 
Minister and Arraes' grandson, is expected to become the new 
president of the PSB, which will hold a convention in 
Brasilia on August 20-21. 
 
 
LULA APPLAUDED DURING ARRAES' FUNERAL 
------------------------------------- 
5.  (U) During Arraes' funeral President Lula was 
enthusiastically applauded by the crowd gathered in front of 
the Campo das Princesas Palace, the Pernambuco Governor's 
mansion.  Shortly after Lula entered the Palace, Sao Paulo 
mayor and presidential aspirant Jose Serra arrived and was 
booed.  Approximately 15 thousand people paid their last 
respects to the former governor.  President Luiz Inacio Lula 
da Silva decreed three days of official mourning, calling 
Arraes' death "an enormous loss for the Brazilian people(His 
experience and wisdom will be sorely missed." 
 
DANILOVICH