SAO PAULO, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Brazil's leading presidential candidate criticized the Bush administration for placing too much emphasis on the war on terrorism and pledged that, if elected, South America's largest nation would participate in hemispheric trade talks, though would adopt a "tough stance" during the negotiations.
Workers' Party, known by its local language initials of PT, presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the Bush administration "only thinks about waging war" since the September 2001 terror attacks.
"The United States has a president that for every 10 words he speaks, nine are about waging war," said da Silva, speaking Tuesday at forum sponsored by O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.
"He is always seeking a new opponent," said the PT candidate, who is commonly known as "Lula."
In recent months, several Brazilian leaders, including President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have criticized the United States for its perceived one-track, international agenda since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, in which some 3,000 people died.
Lula went on to condemn the U.S.-led Free Trade of the Americas pact, which will enter a critical phase of negotiations at the beginning of next year. If ratified, FTAA would attempt to eliminate barriers to trade and investment among 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere by 2005.
"As it is being proposed by the United States, the FTAA is not an integration proposal, it is annexation politics and our country won't be enclosed," said an adamant Lula.
He called for Brazil to take a more aggressive stance in the upcoming negotiations and said if elected the country would "not accept American impositions on trade."
Lula said Brazil should first focus on revitalizing the South American trade bloc, otherwise known as Mercosur, which included Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
"This way we can make Mercosur a powerful negotiating bloc at the FTAA talks," he said.
He also stressed the importance of Brazil maintaining its "autonomy to determine economic policy" when dealing with the International Monetary Fund, which recently granted Brazil a $30 billion bailout. Lula did not however, reject the idea of future negotiations with the IMF.
With less than two weeks until the Oct. 6 presidential elections, Lula enjoys a commanding lead in the four-man race, regularly polling more than 40 percent of the perspective vote. His closest contender, former Health Minister Jose Serra, who is also Cardoso's handpicked successor, is trailing by more than 20 points.
The left-leaning PT candidate has both foreign and domestic investors concerned that this fiery anti-FTAA and IMF talk could be a bad omen for Brazil's future. Many are concerned that if elected, Lula would default on Brazil's $260 billion in foreign debts and send the world's eighth-largest economy spiraling toward fiscal despair experienced by its southern neighbor Argentina.
Lula has repeatedly denied that he would default on the loans, though has not rules out the possible restructuring of payments.
Lula also used the Estado forum to sound off on issues closer to home, such as the environment and agrarian reform.
He called for the use of the Amazon in a "rational way" for research and development that does not promote further deforestation or pollution of the world's largest rainforest. "I do not want an untouched Amazon ... we need to develop non-polluting industries in the region," said Lula, adding that it is important to keep in mind the 20 million people who call the rainforest home.
On agrarian reform, Lula denounced rumors that he would curtail the actions of Brazil's Landless Works Movement, or MST, which calls for the distribution of unused, private land to those who have none.
The movement often uses large-scale land seizures by thousands of its members to draw attention to their cause.
"The MST is an autonomous movement, it doesn't need to ask the PT for permission to do anything," Lula said.
The MST and the Workers' Party have close ties, as the landless workers have pledged their support for Lula publicly. In turn, the PT has backed the MST's effort to promote agrarian reform.
"Whoever wrote that (about curtailing MST actions) lied. I can't even control my 17-year-old son," the candidate quipped.
