Lula compares leaving politics to 'quitting eating or breathing'

Tue, 28 Dec 2010

Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ruled out leaving politics altogether, saying it "would be like quitting eating or breathing."

In a column published Tuesday in several Brazilian newspapers, he wrote: "There is no chance that I may leave politics. I cannot throw out of the window the experience I gathered by leading a government that is regarded as very successful."

Lula retains record popularity ratings but was constitutionally barred from standing for a third consecutive term in office. He is to hand over power Saturday to his handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff, who will become Brazil's first female president.

Lula said he plans to travel around Brazil "to verify" what his administration did, and to help poor countries in Latin America and Africa through Brazilian models that bring together "economic growth and effective income transfer policies."

Praising Rousseff, Lula said he expects her to surprise observers with "her ability to command, to deliver, to drive things."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/359949,quitting-eating-or-breathing.html.