Barack Obama: Candidate of Choice in Brazil

by Simone Manigo-Truell dos Santos
Since the beginning of 2008 a good portion of the United States' population has had Barack Obama fever as people have been emboldened with the hope of change. Senator Obama's candidacy for president has sparked t-shirts, You Tube videos, debates and countless newspaper and magazine articles. His selection as the first Black candidate for president of a major political party is no doubt a historical moment for North Americans; however, his candidacy has had repercussions world wide and Brazil is no different. Most recently, the November 3, 2008 edition of the Brazilian weekly, Epoca (similar to Time or Newsweek), features Senator Obama on the cover with the title, Por que o mundo quer Obama ("Why the world wants Obama"). In June another weekly, Veja, also featured Sen. Obama on the cover and discussed at length his ancestry and Black heritage. (The conservative Veja also stated that if Obama were in Brazil he would be mulatto, not Black, a somewhat controversial position in Brazil.) Finally, even the high-priced shopping mall in Brazil's capital of Black culture, Salvador, Bahia, where Black consumers and employees routinely suffer overt discrimination, featured large outdoor posters professing support for Senator Barack Obama.

Levantamos sat down with Gilberto Leal, the director of the Brazilian non-profit, Niger Okan, and coordinator of Brazil's National Coordination of Black Entities (CONEN), to discuss his thoughts on Barack Obama and American politics. Leal notably began our interview by commenting on the overwhelming sentiment of disdain that many Brazilians feel towards President Bush and his administration: "When Condoleezza Rice came to Salvador [in March 2008], she was not received well. Bahians have a lot of hostility toward the United States and towards her because of the Bush administration and mostly because of the war," he said. The strain on American and Brazilian political relations can be clearly seen in Salvador, a city in the northeastern state of Bahia in Brazil; just mention Bush to anyone there and watch their negative reaction. Leal believes that with Senator Obama as president, Brazilians' negative attitudes towards the U.S. will change, "Americans don't realize Obama's significance throughout the world and more specifically in Brazil," Leal explained. "In Brazil, there has always been interest in Obama, even since before his campaign for presidency. Brazil has never seen a Black candidate and so this election, even if he doesn't win, will inevitably influence Brazil's ideas of race and politics. Brazilians will look to Obama and think, 'Maybe Brazil can have that.'"

Does Leal, however, believe that Senator Obama will be the Black messiah if he wins? Although eager to see Obama elected, Leal is balanced in what he thinks an Obama administration will mean. He stated, "We want to see what Obama thinks about the position of Black people in the world and the power he would wield as president of the United States. We were evaluating his ideas and points during the primaries and now we are waiting for the game of politics to end so that his true interests will be revealed. If he is elected, then we will see his true views revealed. Brazilians are waiting to see the positive and negative consequences of having a Black president in the United States." Leal said he therefore will not be disappointed if a President Obama does not live up to his expectations. According to him, "We know that just his candidacy is an amazing achievement. No matter how many or how little positive actions come out of his presidency, he has already been victorious." Leal also noted that aside from a President Obama's impact on the Black community in the United States, he will impact society at large. Leal said that CONEN is supporting Obama's campaign for presidency however they can because it is important to them to support him officially. According to him, "[CONEN] wants to be present and actively observe the phenomena of Barack Obama" and hopes to attend the inauguration should Senator Obama win.

Senator Obama's candidacy has also led many in Brazil to question whether Brazil, where Blacks make up at least fifty percent of the population, will ever have a viable Black candidate for president. Leal first debunked the idea that current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva is Black, as some have asserted: "Lula's not Black but he's definitely not White either. Race is complicated in Brazil and changes depending on interest. An observer can see someone as White and another observer can see the same person as Black. It depends on your perspective. Lula is from the Northeast (which has a large number White. Race is a sliding scale and people can fall anywhere between White or Black or Pardo (mixed) or indigenous, but Lula is White." Leal thinks it is possible that Brazil will soon have a Black candidate and notes that this discussion has already begun within the Brazilian political establishment especially because of the more populist working class President Lula. Leal says that if there is no Black presidential candidate, there definitely will be at least a Black vice presidential candidate. He predicts that Brazil could see candidates as soon as 2010 and mentions as possibilities Senator Paulo Paim from Rio Grande do Sul, former Secretary of the Environment Marina da Silva from Acre and Benedita da Silva from Rio de Janeiro.