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An honorary degree^[1] or a degree honoris causa (Latin: "for the sake of the honor") is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations. The degree is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the academic institution.

Usually the degree is conferred as a way of honoring a distinguished visitor's contributions to a specific field, or to society in general. The university often derives benefits by association with the person in question.

Historical origins and rationale[link]

The practice dates back to the middle ages, when for various reasons a university might be persuaded, or otherwise see fit, to grant exemption from some or all of the usual statutory requirements for award of a degree. The earliest honorary degree on record was awarded to Lionel Woodville in the late 1470s by the University of Oxford.^[2] He later became Bishop of Salisbury.

In the latter part of the 16th century, the granting of honorary degrees became quite common, especially on the occasion of royal visits to Oxford or Cambridge.^[2] On the visit of James I to Oxford in 1605, for example, forty-three members of his retinue (fifteen of whom were earls or barons) received the degree of Master of Arts, and the Register of Convocation explicitly states that these were full degrees, carrying the usual privileges (such as voting rights in Convocation and Congregation).^[2]

Modern practice[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Honorary degrees are usually awarded at regular graduation ceremonies, at which the recipients are often invited to make a speech of acceptance before the assembled faculty and graduates – an event which often forms the highlight of the ceremony. Generally universities nominate several persons each year for honorary degrees; these nominees usually go through several committees before receiving approval. Those who are nominated are generally not told until a formal approval and invitation are made; often it is perceived that the system is shrouded in secrecy, and occasionally seen as political and controversial.^{[citation needed]}

The term honorary degree is a slight misnomer: honoris causa degrees, being awarded by a university under the terms of its charter, may be considered to have technically the same standing, and to grant the same privileges and style of address as their substantive counterparts, except where explicitly stated to the contrary. In practice, however, such degrees tend to be popularly considered not to be of the same standing as substantive degrees, except perhaps where the recipient has demonstrated an appropriate level of academic scholarship that would ordinarily qualify them for the award of a substantive degree. Recipients of honorary degrees typically wear the same academic dress as recipients of substantive degrees, although there are a few exceptions: honorary graduands at the University of Cambridge wear the appropriate full-dress gown but not the hood, and those at the University of St Andrews wear a black cassock instead of the usual full-dress gown.

An ad eundem or jure dignitatis degree is sometimes considered honorary, although they are only conferred on an individual who has already achieved a comparable qualification at another university or by attaining an office requiring the appropriate level of scholarship.

Although higher doctorates such as DSc, DLitt, etc., are often awarded honoris causa, in many countries (notably England and Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand) it is possible formally to earn such a degree. This typically involves the submission of a portfolio of peer-refereed research, usually undertaken over a number of years, which has made a substantial contribution to the academic field in question. The university will appoint a panel of examiners who will consider the case and prepare a report recommending whether or not the degree be awarded. Usually, the applicant must have some strong formal connection with the university in question, for example full-time academic staff, or graduates of several years' standing.

Some universities, seeking to differentiate between substantive and honorary doctorates, have a degree (often DUniv, or Doctor of the University) which is used for these purposes, with the other higher doctorates reserved for formally examined academic scholarship.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has the authority to award degrees. These "Lambeth degrees" are sometimes, erroneously, thought to be honorary; however the archbishops have for many centuries had the legal authority (originally as the representatives of the Pope, later confirmed by a 1533 Act of Henry VIII), to award degrees and regularly do so to people who have either passed an examination or are deemed to have satisfied the appropriate requirements.

Between the two extremes of honoring celebrities and formally assessing a portfolio of research, many universities use honorary degrees to recognize achievements of intellectual rigor comparable to an earned degree. Some learned societies award honorary fellowships in the same way as honorary degrees are awarded by universities for similar reasons.

Practical use[link]

Letter from Ezra Stiles to George Washington announcing the awarding of an Honorary degree to Washington by President and Fellows of Yale College, 1781

In some countries, recipients of an honorary doctorate may, if they wish, adopt the title of "Doctor".^{[citation needed]} Many universities, however, request that an honorary graduate refrain from such practice. A typical example of university regulations is Honorary graduates may use the approved post-nominal letters. It is not customary, however, for recipients of an honorary doctorate to adopt the prefix 'Dr' .^[3] In some universities, it is however a matter of personal preference for an honorary doctor to use the formal title of "Doctor", regardless of the background circumstances for the award. Written communications where an honorary doctorate has been awarded may include the letters "h.c." after the award to indicate that status.

Notable people using the honorary prefix include:

• Benjamin Franklin, who received an honorary master's degree from The College of William and Mary in 1756, and doctorates from the University of St. Andrews in 1759 and the University of Oxford in 1762 for his scientific accomplishments. He thereafter referred to himself as "Doctor Franklin".^[4]
• Charles Malik, the UN General Assembly president, and co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, received no less than sixty-three honorary doctoral degrees. His original title was "doctor", as he had earned a PhD from Harvard. Malik has the highest number of honorary doctoral degrees.^{[citation needed]}
• Peter Hollingworth, AC, OBE, Governor-General of Australia from 2001 until 2003, styled himself as "Dr Hollingworth" while holding that office. This was one of several controversies attending his tenure as Governor-General since, although he held six honorary doctorates from Australian universities, it was (and remains) contrary to Australian tradition for the grantee of an honorary doctorate to use the title in public life. If there was any justification for this departure from convention, it lay in the fact that most people previously appointed to the position already held a formal title – such as a British knighthood or peerage, or a military rank – whereas Hollingworth's previous style, "The Most Reverend", derived from his former position as the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane and was considered inappropriate for a person holding an official position in a country which maintains a formal separation between church and state. In any event, the situation was regularized on 21 May 2001, when Hollingworth was awarded the Lambeth degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, in recognition of his research, publications, teaching and achievement in the field of Christian social ethics, social welfare and poverty in Australia and episcopal leadership.^[5]
• Billy Graham is regularly addressed as "Dr. Graham", though his highest earned degree is a BA in anthropology from Wheaton College.^[6] He holds 20 honorary doctorates and has turned down nearly twice as many.^{[citation needed]}
• Ian Paisley, Baron Bannside holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity awarded by Bob Jones University, a conservative evangelical Christian college in Greenville, South Carolina.
• Maya Angelou, holds many honorary doctorates, calls herself and is referred to by many as "Dr. Angelou" despite holding no undergraduate or advanced (non-honorary) degree.^[7]
• Booker T. Washington is often referred to as "Dr. Washington" after receiving an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College.
• The University of Exeter has awarded honorary D.Litt degrees and subsequently referred to the recipients as "Doctor".^[8]
• Terry Wogan has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick and refers to himself as "Doctor" on air.
• Judy MacArthur Clark CBE (Chief Inspector of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate, former President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and former Chair of the Farm Animal Welfare Council)^[9] received an honorary doctorate of veterinary medicine and surgery (DVMS) from the University of Glasgow,^[10] and refers to herself professionally as "Doctor".^[11]
• Ralph Stanley, the bluegrass artist, is referred to by many people^{[citation needed]} and refers to himself as "Doctor" after being awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, in 1976.
• Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and creator of Gonzo journalism, received an honorary doctorate from the Universal Life Church in the late 1960s.^[12] Thompson often insisted on the title, as did his alter ego Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas who claimed to be a "Doctor of Journalism".
• Stephen Colbert received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College in 2006. Since then, the credits of The Colbert Report jokingly refer to him as "Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A." (which uses both the title "Dr." and a postnominal, which is improper). The same title is used in a recurring segment on the show, in which Colbert dispenses dubious medical advice despite his degree being Doctor of Fine Arts.
• Mirza Ahmad received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2007. Since then, the credits of every document produced by Birmingham City Council refer to him as "Dr. Mirza Ahmad LLD (hon), MBA., LL.M, Barrister".
• Jakaya Kikwete, the current President of Tanzania, has often been referred to as "Dr. Kikwete" for his honorary degree received from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) in 2006.^[13]
• Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software Foundation in the field of Information Technology, has been awarded no fewer than nine honorary doctorates from various international educational institutions from 1996 through 2011 including the North American Lakehead University in 2009, and now refers to himself as "Dr. Richard Stallman" in speeches, talks, videos and email.^[14][15][16]

In the United Kingdom the author and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, who had some years earlier been unable (due to financial considerations) to complete his undergraduate studies at Pembroke College, Oxford, was awarded the degree of Master of Arts by diploma in 1755, in recognition of his scholarly achievements. In 1765, Trinity College, Dublin awarded him the degree of Doctor of Laws and in 1775 Oxford bestowed upon him the degree of Doctor of Civil Law by diploma. It is unclear how much these degrees count as "honorary", though, as they were bestowed in recognition of a specific, undoubtedly substantial and original scholarly work, and one that was arguably far more deserving than many other doctoral theses submitted at the time.^{[citation needed]}

The recipient of an honorary degree may add the degree title postnominally, but it should always be made clear that the degree is honorary by adding "honorary" or "honoris causa" or "h.c." in parenthesis after the degree title. In some countries, a person who holds an honorary doctorate may use the title "Doctor" prenominally, abbreviated "Dr.h.c." or "Dr.(h.c.)". Sometimes, they use "Hon" before the degree letters, for example, "Hon DMus".

In recent years, some universities have adopted entirely separate post nominal titles for honorary degrees. This is in part due to the confusion that honorary degrees have caused. It is now common in certain countries to use certain degrees, such as LLD or HonD, as purely honorary. For instance, an honorary doctor of the Auckland University of Technology takes the special title HonD instead of the usual PhD Some universities, including the Open University grant Doctorates of the University (DUniv) to selected nominees, while awarding PhD or EdD degrees to those who have fulfilled the academic requirements.

Most^{[citation needed]} American universities award the degrees of LLD (Doctor of Laws), the LittD (Doctor of Letters), the LHD (Doctor of Humane Letters), the ScD (Doctor of Science), the PedD (Doctor of Pedagogy) and the DD (Doctor of Divinity) only as honorary degrees. American universities do not have the system of "higher doctorates" used in the UK and some other universities around the world.

[edit] Customary degrees (Ad eundem degrees)

Some universities and colleges also have the custom of awarding a master's degree to every scholar it appoints as a full professor who had never earned a degree there. At the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge many senior staff are granted the degree of Master of Arts after three years of service, and at Amherst College all tenured professors are awarded a Master of Arts degree at academic convocation in the autumn even though the school only offers an earned Bachelor of Arts degree (Amherst awards honorary doctorates at commencement in the spring to notable scholars and other special invitees). Brown University and Harvard University also awards tenured faculty, who do not have a Brown degree, the AM ad eundem.

These ad eundem degrees are earned degrees, not honorary, because they recognize formal learning.

Similarly a jure dignitatis degree is one awarded to someone who has demonstrated their eminence and scholarship by being appointed to a particular office. Thus, for example, a DD (Doctor of Divinity) might be conferred upon a bishop on the occasion of their consecration, or a judge created LLD (Legum Doctor) or DCL (Doctor of Civil Law) upon their appointment to the bench. These, also, are properly considered substantive rather than honorary degrees.

Institutions not awarding honorary degrees[link]

Some universities, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,^[17] Cornell University,^[18] Vanderbilt University, Stanford University,^[19][20] the California Institute of Technology, Rice University^[21] and the University of Virginia,^[22] do not award honorary degrees. MIT does, however, on rare occasions award honorary professorships; Winston Churchill was so honored in 1949 and Salman Rushdie in 1993. Similarly, the Stanford Alumni Association occasionally awards the Degree of Uncommon Man/Woman to individuals who have given "rare and exceptional service" to the university.^[23] Though UCLA has imposed a moratorium on awarding honorary degrees, it honors notable people with the UCLA Medal instead.^[24]

Controversy[link]

Elena Ceauşescu becoming Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Manila, Philippines, in 1975

Some universities and colleges have been accused of granting honorary degrees in exchange for large donations. Honorary degree recipients, particularly those who have no prior academic qualifications, have sometimes been criticized if they insist on being called "Doctor" as a result of their award, as the honorific may mislead the general public about their qualifications.

The awarding of an honorary degree to political figures can prompt protests from faculty or students. In 2001, George W. Bush received an honorary degree from Yale University where he had earned his bachelor's degree in history in 1968. Some students and faculty chose to boycott the university's 300th commencement.^[25] Andrew Card, who served as Bush's Chief of Staff from 2001–2006, ultimately chose not to speak when the University of Massachusetts-Amherst awarded him an honorary degree in 2007, in response to protests from students and faculty at the commencement ceremonies.^[26]

In 1985, as a deliberate snub, the University of Oxford voted to refuse Margaret Thatcher an honorary degree in protest against her cuts in funding for higher education.^[27] This award had previously been given to all Prime Ministers who had been educated at Oxford.

In 2005 at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, a gynecologist involved in a legal case decriminalizing abortion in Canada (R. v. Morgentaler), was made an honorary Doctor of Laws. Over 12,000 signatures were acquired asking the UWO to reverse its decision to honor Dr. Morgentaler.^[28] Several protest rallies were held, including one on the day the honorary degree was bestowed (a counter petition to support Morgentaler's degree gained 10,000 signatures).^[29]

Few people object when an honorary degree is awarded in a field that the awardee is noted for. McGill University's decision to grant musician Joni Mitchell an honorary Doctor of Music in 2004 was unopposed, although it was timed to coincide with a symposium about Mitchell's career.^[30]

In 1996 Southampton College at Long Island University (now a campus of SUNY Stony Brook) awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters to Muppet Kermit the Frog. Although some students objected to awarding a degree to a muppet, Kermit delivered an enjoyable commencement address and the small college received considerable press coverage.^[31] It should be noted, too, that the degree was conferred in recognition of efforts in the area of environmentalism. Said the university: "His theme song, 'It's Not Easy Bein' Green,' has become a rallying cry of the environmental movement. Kermit has used his celebrity to spread positive messages in public service announcements for the National Wildlife Federation, National Parks Service, the Better World Society, and others."^[32]

The Philosophy Faculty at Cambridge courted controversy amongst the academic community in March 1992, when three of its members posed a temporary veto against the awarding an honorary doctorate to Jacques Derrida;^[33] they and other non-cambridge proponents of analytic philosophy protested the granting on the grounds that Derrida's work "did not conform with accepted measures of academic rigor." Although the University eventually passed the motion, the episode did more to draw attention to the continuing antipathy between the analytic (of which Cambridge's faculty is a leading exponent) and the post-Hegelian continental philosophical traditions (with which Derrida's work is more closely associated).

In 2007 protesters demanded that the University of Edinburgh revoke an honorary degree awarded to Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe in 1984. The University subsequently revealed plans to review its honorary degree policy and strip certain figures of their honorary degrees who did not deserve them. When considering revoking the honorary degree of a political figure, such reasons as human rights abuse or political corruption would be considered. As a result, it was announced that Mugabe had been stripped of his honorary degree. The University also planned to have a more rigorous selection procedure regarding potential recipients of honorary degrees, in an attempt to rectify the trend of awarding degrees to celebrities.^[34] Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst also asked the university to revoke the honorary degree that was awarded to Mugabe over twenty years ago, and on June 12, 2008 the trustees unanimously rescinded Robert Mugabe's honorary degree.^[35][36]

In April 2009, Arizona State University's President Michael M. Crow refused to give an honorary degree to US President Barack Obama for his perceived lack of adequate qualifying achievements thus far.^[37] Also, controversy^[38] was ignited about Notre Dame awarding Obama an honorary degree, as the institution is Roman Catholic and Obama holds pro-choice views on abortion and supports embryonic stem cell research.^[39]

In May 2009, Saint Joseph's University gave an honorary degree to Chris Matthews, host of Hardball. Since Saint Joseph's is a Catholic, Jesuit University, this has sparked controversy with the pro-life movement, as Matthews is notably pro-choice.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Honoris causa ceremonies

• Freedom of the City
• Homage

References[link]

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
35th President of Brazil
In office 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2010
Vice President	José Alencar
Preceded by	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Succeeded by	Dilma Rousseff
Leader of the Workers' Party
In office 10 February 1980 – 15 November 1994
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Rui Falcão
Personal details
Born	(1945-10-27) 27 October 1945 (age 66) Caetés, Pernambuco, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Political party	Workers' Party
Spouse(s)	Maria de Lurdes da Silva (Deceased) Marisa Letícia Rocco Casa (1974-present)
Children	Fábio Luís Lurian Cordeiro Luís Cláudio Marcos Cláudio (Adopted) Sandro Luís
Residence	São Bernardo do Campo
Profession	Automotive worker Union organizer
Religion	Roman Catholicism[1]
Signature

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Portuguese: [luˈiz iˈnasju ˈlulɐ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ] ( listen); born 27 October 1945, known popularly as Lula,^[2] served as the 35th President of Brazil, from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010.

A founding member of the Workers' Party (PT – Partido dos Trabalhadores), he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election, then again in 1994 and again in 1998. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as President on 1 January 2003. In the 2006 election he was re-elected for a second term as President, which ended on 31 December 2010.^[3] He was succeeded by his former Chief of Staff, Dilma Rousseff.

He is often regarded as the most popular politician in the history of Brazil and, at the time of his mandate, one of the most popular in the world.^[4][5][6] Social programs like Bolsa Família and Fome Zero are hallmarks of his time in office. Lula played a prominent role in recent international relations developments, including the Nuclear program of Iran and global warming, and was described as "a man with audacious ambitions to alter the balance of power among nations."^[7] He was featured in Time's The 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2010,^[8] and has been called "the most successful politician of his time."^[9] In October 2011, Lula—who was a smoker for 40 years^[10]—was diagnosed with throat cancer and has already started his chemotherapy treatment. Since the cancer was found he has successfully recovered and has since announced a return to politics.^[11]

Early life[link]

Luiz Inácio da Silva was born on 27 October 1945 (but registered with a date of birth of 6 October 1945) in Caetés (then a district of Garanhuns), located 155 miles (250 km) from Recife, capital of Pernambuco, a Brazilian state in the Northeast of Brazil. He was the seventh of eight children of Aristides Inácio da Silva and Eurídice Ferreira de Melo. Two weeks after Lula's birth, his father moved to Santos with Valdomira Ferreira de Góis, a cousin of Eurídice.

In December 1952, when Lula was only 7 years old, his mother decided to move to São Paulo with her children to rejoin her husband. After a journey of thirteen days in a pau-de-arara (the open cargo area of a truck), they arrived in Guarujá and discovered that Aristides had formed a second family with Valdomira. Aristides' two families lived in the same house for some time, but they didn't get along very well, and four years later, Eurídice moved with her children to a small room in the back area of a bar in the city of São Paulo. After that, Lula rarely saw his father, who became an alcoholic and died in 1978.

Lula was married twice. In 1969, he married Maria de Lourdes, who died of hepatitis in 1971, when she was pregnant with their first son, who also died.^[12] Lula and Miriam Cordeiro had a daughter, Lurian, out of wedlock in 1974.^[13] In 1974, Lula married Marisa, his current wife and at the time a widow, with whom he had three sons (he has also adopted Marisa's son from her first marriage).

Education and work[link]

Lula had little formal education. He did not learn to read until he was ten years old,^[14] and quit school after the fourth grade in order to work to help his family. His working life began at age 12 as a shoeshiner and street vendor.^[15] By age 14 he got his first formal job in a copper processing factory as a lathe operator.

At age 19, he lost the little finger on his left hand in an accident while working as a press operator in an automobile parts factory.^[14] After losing his finger he had to run to several hospitals before he received medical attention. This experience increased his interest in participating within the Workers' Union. Around that time, he became involved in union activities and held several important union posts.^[15] Due to perceived incompatibility with the Brazilian military government and trade union activities, Lula's views moved further to the political left.

Union career[link]

Inspired by his brother Frei Chico, Lula joined the labour movement when he worked at Indústrias Villares. He rose steadily in the ranks, and was elected in 1975, and reelected in 1978, president of the Steel Workers' Union of São Bernardo do Campo and Diadema. Both cities are located in the ABCD Region, home to most of Brazil's automobile manufacturing facilities (such as Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and others) and are among the most industrialized in the country. In the late 1970s, when Brazil was under military rule, Lula helped organize union activities, including major strikes. Labour courts found the strikes to be illegal, and Lula was jailed for a month. Due to this, and like other people imprisoned for political activities under the military government, Lula was awarded a lifetime pension after the regime fell.

Political career[link]

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaking at the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies.

On 10 February 1980, a group of academics, intellectuals, and union leaders, including Lula, founded the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) or Workers' Party, a left-wing party with progressive ideas created in the midst of Brazil's military government.

In 1982 he added the nickname Lula to his legal name.^[2] In 1983 he helped found the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) union association. In 1984 PT and Lula joined the popular Diretas Já! (Direct [Elections] Now!) campaign, demanding a direct popular vote for the next Brazilian presidential election. According to the 1967 constitution, Presidents were at that time elected by both Houses of Congress in joint session, with representatives of all State Legislatures; this was widely recognised as a mere sham as, since the March 1964 coup d'état, each "elected" President had been a retired general chosen in a closed military caucus. Lula and the PT supported the public demand for a change in the electoral system. But the campaign was defeated by a vote in Congress that rejected an amendment calling direct elections for next year, and, in 1985, a civilian president, Tancredo Neves, was elected by the same indirect procedure, with Lula's support. Only four years later, as a direct result of Diretas Já! and after years of popular struggle, the 1989 elections were the first to elect a President by direct popular vote in 29 years.

Elections[link]

Lula and the mayor of São Paulo, José Serra, meet in 2004. Lula defeated Serra in the 2002 presidential elections.

Lula first ran for office in 1982, for the state government of São Paulo and lost. In the 1986 elections Lula won a seat in Congress with the most votes nationwide.^[16] The Workers' Party helped write the country's post-military government Constitution, ensuring strong constitutional guarantees for workers' rights, but failed to achieve a proposed push for agrarian reform in the Constitutional text. Under Lula's leadership, the PT took a stance against the Constitution in the 1988 Constituent Assembly, grudgingly agreeing to sign the convened draft at a later stage.

In 1989, still as a Congressman, Lula ran as the PT candidate in the first democratic elections for President since 1960. Lula and Leonel Brizola, two popular left-wing candidates, were expected to vie for first place. Lula was viewed as the most left-leaning of the two, advocating immediate land reform and a default on the external debt. However, a minor candidate, Fernando Collor de Mello, former governor of Alagoas, quickly amassed support among the nation's élite with a more business-friendly agenda. Collor became popular taking emphatic anti-corruption positions; he eventually beat Lula in the second round of the 1989 elections. In 1992, Collor resigned, under threat of impeachment for his alleged embezzlement of public money.

Lula refused to run for re-election as a Congressman in 1990, busying himself with expanding the Workers' Party organizations around the country. As the political scene in the 1990s came under the sway of the Brazilian real monetary stabilization plan, which ended decades of rampant inflation, former Minister of Finance Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB)) defeated Lula in 1994 and again, by an even wider margin, in 1998.

Before winning the presidency in 2002, Lula had been a strident union organizer known for his bushy beard and Che Guevara t-shirts.^[17] In the 2002 campaign, Lula foreswore both his informal clothing style and his platform plank of linking the payment of Brazil's foreign debt to a prior thorough audit. This last point had worried economists, businessmen and banks, who feared that even a partial Brazilian default along with the existing Argentine default would have a massive ripple effect through the world economy. Embracing political consultant Duda Mendonça's advice to pursue a more media-friendly image, Lula became President after winning the second round of the 2002 election, held on 27 October, defeating the PSDB candidate José Serra.

Presidency[link]

Lula served 2 terms as president and left office on January 1, 2011. During his farewell speech he said he felt an additional burden to prove that he could handle the presidency despite his humble beginnings. "If I failed, it would be the workers' class which would be failing; it would be this country's poor who would be proving they did not have what it takes to rule."^[18]

Political orientation[link]

Lula climbs the ramp leading to the Palácio do Planalto, with Vice President José Alencar, for the official ceremony marking the beginning of their second term, in 2007.

Since the beginning of his political career to the present, Lula has changed some of his original ideas and moderated his positions. Instead of the drastic social changes he proposed in the past, his government chose a reformist line, passing new retirement, tax, labour and judicial legislation, and discussing university reform.

Very few actual reforms have been implemented so far. Some wings of the Worker's Party have disagreed with this moderation in focus and have left the party to form dissident wings such as the Workers' Cause Party, the United Socialist Workers' Party and the Socialism and Freedom Party. Alliances with conservative, right wing politicians, like former Presidents José Sarney and Fernando Collor, have been a cause of disappointment for some.^[19] On 1 October 2006, Lula narrowly missed winning another term in the first round of elections. He faced a run-off on 29 October and won by a substantial margin.^[20]

In an interview published 26 August 2007, he said that he had no intention to seek a constitutional change so that he could run for a third consecutive term; he also said that he wanted "to reach the end of [his] term in a strong position in order to influence the succession."^[21]

Social projects[link]

Lula gives a speech in Diadema, in a public event launching further social assistance in the form of subsidized housing and Bolsa Família credits.

Lula put social programs at the top of his agenda during the campaign and since being elected. Lula's leading program since very early on has been a campaign to eradicate hunger, following the lead of projects already put into practice by the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, but expanded within the new Fome Zero ("Zero Hunger").^[22] This program brings together a series of programs with the goal to end hunger in Brazil: the creation of water cisterns in Brazil's semi-arid region of Sertão, plus actions to counter teenage pregnancy, to strengthen family agriculture, to distribute a minimum amount of cash to the poor, and many other measures.

Brazil's largest assistance program, however, is Bolsa Família ("Family Allowance"), which is an expansion based upon the previous Bolsa Escola ("School Allowance"), which was conditional on school attendance, first introduced in the city of Campinas by then-mayor José Roberto Magalhães Teixeira. Not long thereafter, other municipalities and states adopted similar programs. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso later federalized the program in 2001. In 2003, Lula formed Bolsa Família by combining Bolsa Escola with additional allowances for food and kitchen gas. This was preceded by the creation of a new ministry – the Ministry of Social Development and Eradication of Hunger. This merger reduced administrative costs and bureaucratic complexity for both the families involved and the administration of the program.

Fome Zero has a government budget and accepts donations from the private sector and international organizations The Bolsa Família program has been praised internationally for its achievements, despite internal criticism accusing it of having turned into an electoral weapon.

Along with projects such as Fome Zero and Bolsa Família, the Lula administration flagship program is the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). The PAC has a total budget of $646 billion reais (US $353 billion) by 2010, and was the Lula administration's main investment program. It is intended to strengthen Brazil's infrastructure, and consequently to stimulate the private sector and create more jobs. The social and urban infrastructure sector was scheduled to receive $84.2 billion reais (US $46 billion).

Economy[link]

Lula on a visit to the Brazilian Aluminium Company.

Construction site of the Santo Antonio Dam, with funding from the Growth Acceleration Program.

"Under Lula, Brazil became the world's eighth-largest economy, more than 20 million people rose out of acute poverty and Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first time the Games will be held in South America."

— The Washington Post, October 2010^[17]

As Lula gained strength in the run-up to the 2002 elections, the fear of drastic measures (and comparisons with Hugo Chávez of Venezuela) increased internal market speculation. This led to some market hysteria, contributing to a currency maxi-devaluation on the real, and a rise in Brazil's risk factor by more than 2000 base points.^[23]

In the beginning of his first term, Lula's chosen Minister of Finance was Antonio Palocci, a physician and former Trotskyist activist who had recanted his far left views while serving as the mayor of the sugarcane processing industry center of Ribeirão Preto, in the state of São Paulo. Lula also chose Henrique Meirelles of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, a prominent market-oriented economist, as head of the Brazilian Central Bank. As a former CEO of the BankBoston he was well-known to the market.^[24] Meirelles was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2002 as a member of the opposing PSDB, but resigned as deputy to become Governor of the Central Bank.^[24]

Silva and his cabinet followed in part the lead of the previous government,^[25] by renewing all agreements with the International Monetary Fund, which were signed by the time Argentina defaulted on its own deals in 2001. His government achieved a satisfactory primary budget surplus in the first two years, as required by the IMF agreement, exceeding the target for the third year. In late 2005, the government paid off its debt to the IMF in full, two years ahead of schedule.^[26] Three years after the election, Lula had slowly but firmly gained the market's confidence, and sovereign risk indexes fell to around 250 points. The government's choice of inflation targeting kept the economy stable, and was complimented during the 2005 World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Brazilian economy was generally not affected by the mensalão scandal.^[27] In early 2006, however, Palocci had to resign as finance minister due to his involvement in an abuse of power scandal. Lula then appointed Guido Mantega, a member of the PT and an economist by profession, as finance minister. Mantega, a former Marxist who had written a Ph.D. thesis (in Sociology) on the history of economic ideas in Brazil from a left-wing viewpoint, is presently known for his criticism of high interest rates, something he claims satisfy banking interests. So far, however, Brazil's interest rates remain among the highest in the world. Mantega has been supportive of a higher employment by the state.

Not long after the start of his second term, Lula, alongside his cabinet, announced the new Growth Acceleration Program (the Programa de Aceleração de Crescimento, or PAC, in Portuguese), an investment program to solve many of the problems that prevent the Brazilian economy from expanding more rapidly. The measures include investment in the creation and repair of roads and railways, simplification and reduction of taxation, and modernization on the country's energy production to avoid further shortages. The money promised to be spent in this Program is considered to be around R$ 500 billion (more than 250 billion dollars) over four years. Part of the measures still depend on approval by Congress. Prior to taking office, Lula had been a critic of privatization policies. In his government, however, his administration has created public-private partnership concessions for seven federal roadways.^[28]

After decades as the largest foreign debtor among emerging economies, Brazil became a net creditor for the first time in January 2008.^[29] By mid-2008, both Fitch ratings and S&P had elevated the classification of Brazilian debt from speculative to investment grade. Banks have had record profit in Lula's government.^[30] The Lula Administration's economic policies also helped to significantly raise living standards, with the percentage of Brazilians belonging to the consumerist middle class rising from 37% to 50% of the population.

Foreign policy[link]

BRIC leaders in 2010 – Dmitry Medvedev, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Hu Jintao and Manmohan Singh.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with President of Mexico Felipe Calderón during an official ceremony in Mexico City on August 6, 2007.

President Barack Obama greets President Lula in the Oval Office, March 2009.

According to The Economist of 2 March 2006, Lula has a pragmatic foreign policy, seeing himself as a negotiator, not an ideologue. As a result, he has befriended both Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and former U.S. President George W. Bush.^{[citation needed]} Leading a large and competitive agricultural state, Lula generally opposes and criticizes farm subsidies, and this position has been seen as one of the reasons for the walkout of developing nations and subsequent collapse of the Cancún World Trade Organization talks in 2003 over G8 agricultural subsidies.^[31] Brazil is becoming influential in dialogue between South America and developed countries, especially the United States. It played an important role in negotiations in internal conflicts of Venezuela and Colombia, and concentrated efforts on strengthening Mercosur.^[32]

During the Lula administration, Brazilian foreign trade has increased dramatically, changing from deficits to several surpluses since 2003. In 2004 the surplus reached $29 billion due to a substantial increase in global demand for commodities. Brazil has also provided UN peace-keeping troops and leads a peace-keeping mission in Haiti.^[33]

Lula also gained increasing stature in the Southern hemisphere buoyed by economic growth in his country. In 2008, he was said to have become a "point man for healing regional crises," as in the escalation of tensions between Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Former Finance Minister, and current advisor, Delfim Netto, said: "Lula is the ultimate pragmatist."^[34]

He travelled to more than 80 countries during his presidency.^[35] A goal of Lula's foreign policy has been for the country to gain a seat as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. In this he has so far been unsuccessful.^[35] And Lula was considered to have pulled off a major coup with Turkey in regards to getting Iran to send its uranium abroad in contravention of western calls.^[35][36]

Lula and his wife, former First Lady Marisa Letícia, pictured in the Palácio da Alvorada, the official residence of the Brazilian president.

The condemnation of Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for the crime of adultery, and who was originally to be executed by stoning led to calls for Lula da Silva's intervention on her behalf. On the issue, Lula commented that "I need to respect the laws of a [foreign] country. If my friendship with the president of Iran and the respect that I have for him is worth something, if this woman has become a nuisance, we will receive her in Brazil." The Iranian government, however, declined the offer.^[37][38] Lula da Silva's actions and comments sparked controversy. Mina Ahadi, an Iranian Communist politician, welcomed Lula da Silva's offer of asylum for Ashtiani, but also reiterated a call for an end to stoning altogether and requesting a cessation of recognition and support for the Iranian government.^{[39][40][41][42]} Jackson Diehl, Deputy Editorial Page Editor of The Washington Post, called Lula da Silva the "best friend of tyrants in the democratic world" and criticised his actions.^[37] Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, viewed Lula da Silva's intervention in a more positive light, calling it a "powerful message to the Islamic Republic."^[43]

Corruption scandals and controversy[link]

Lula's administration was plagued by corruption scandals, most notably the mensalão and sanguessugas scandals, in his first term. Although the independent office of the Brazilian Attorney-General presented charges against 40 politicians and officials involved in the Mensalão affair, no charges have ever been presented against Lula himself, and top officials involved, such as Roberto Jefferson, José Dirceu, Luiz Gushiken and Humberto Costa denied he was aware of any wrongdoing; his only crime would be omission, since it was attested by one of his own party members, Alindo Chinaglia, that Lula had been warned of its existence.^[44] Having lost numerous government aides in the face of political turmoil, Lula has come largely unscathed in the eyes of the public, with overwhelming approval rates.

His administration has been heavily criticized for relying on local political barons, like José Sarney, Jader Barbalho, Renan Calheiros and Fernando Collor, to ensure a majority in Congress. He lost some important votes there, though, for example when the Senate barred the financial tax from being reinstated. Another frequent reproach relates to his ambiguous treatment of the left wing in the Workers' Party. Analysts fear that he occasionally gives in to their wishes for tighter government control of the media and increased state intervention: in 2004, he pushed for the creation of a "Federal Council of Journalists" (CFJ) and a "National Cinema Agency" (Ancinav), the latter of which would overhaul funding for electronic communications. Both proposals ultimately failed amid concerns that they would lead to excessive state intervention over free speech.^[45][46] Fernando Cardoso, Lula's predecessor as the president of Brazil, has accused Lula of denying any positive achievements allegedly made by the Cardoso administration.^[47]

In March 2009, before an appearance at the G-20 summit meeting in London, Lula caused an uproar when he declared that the economic crisis was caused by "the irrational behavior of white people with blue eyes, who before seemed to know everything, and now have shown they don't know anything."^[48]

Wanted Italian terrorist Cesare Battisti was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on 18 March 2007 by Brazilian and French police officers. Later, Brazilian Minister of Justice Tarso Genro granted him the status of political refugee, in a controversial decision which was much criticized in Italy, whereas divided Brazilian and international press opinion. On 5 February 2009, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in support of Italy and held a minute of silence in memory to Battisti's victims. On 18 November 2009, the Brazilian Supreme Court considered the refugee status illegal and allowed extradition, but also stated that the Brazilian constitution gives the president personal powers to deny the extradition if he chooses to, effectively putting the final decision in the hands of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Despite that decision, Lula decided to deny extradition of the Italian far-left terrorist Cesare Battisti. On 31 December 2010, Lula's last effective day as president, the decision not to allow extradition was officially announced.

Battisti was released on 9 June 2011 from prison after the Brazilian Constitutional Court denied Italy's request to extradite him. Italy plans to appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Post-presidency[link]

On 29 October 2011, Lula was announced by Sírio-Libanes Hospital to have contracted throat cancer by way of a malignant tumor in his larynx. He elected to undergo chemotherapy to counteract the tumor, and on 16 November, pictures were released by his press office of his wife shaving his beard and hair, leaving him bald but retaining his moustache.^[49] It was the first time that Lula was seen without his beard since leaving office.^[50] He was treated with radiation therapy sessions, until the cancer was in complete remission. There are no longer any visible tumors, but he would still be checked periodically. Lula announced his recovery on March 2012, and his return to politics to continue working for Brazilians. Dilma Rousseff, the current president of Brazil, praised the news.^[51] Lula may run for the presidency a new time in 2014 if Rousseff does not seek a reelection by then.^[52]

Awards and recognition[link]

Approval ratings of Lula from April 2006 until December 2010. At the end of his term he had an approval rating of 87%. Source: CNT / Sensus.

Since Lula began his term as President, he has attained numerous medals, such as the Brazilian Order of Merit, the Brazilian Orders of Military, Naval and Aeronautical Merit, the Brazilian Order of Scientific Merit, the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle^[53] and the Norwegian Order of Royal Merit; the First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine, 2003), the Order of Liberty (Ukraine, 2009). He also received the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 2003^[54] and was the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebration in 2004.^[55] He was also given the Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 2006.^[56] He was rated the most popular Brazilian president of all time with an 80.5% approval rate in his last months as the president.^[57]

US President Barack Obama greeted him at the G20 summit in London (April, 2009) saying: "That's my man right there...love this guy...The most popular politician on earth."^[58]

Lula was chosen as the 2009 Man of the Year by prominent European newspapers El País and Le Monde. The Financial Times ranks Lula among the 50 faces that shaped the 2000s.^[59]

On 20 December 2008, he was named the 18th most important person in the world by Newsweek magazine, and was the only Latin American person featured in a list of 50 most influential World leaders.^[60]

On July 7, 2009, he received UNESCO's Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. On 5 November 2009, President Lula was awarded the Chatham House Prize, awarded to the statesperson who is deemed by Chatham House members to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.^[61]

On 29 January 2010, President Lula was awarded as a Global Statesman by the World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland, but could not attend the ceremony due to problems of high blood pressure.^[62]

In 2010, Time Magazine named Lula one of the most influential leaders of the world.^[63]

On 27 September 2011, President Lula received a doctorate honoris causa from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, commonly known as Sciences Po.^[64]

On October 14, 2011, President Lula received the 2011 World Food Prize, along with John Kufuor, for his personal commitment and visionary leadership while serving as the president of Brazil, and for creating and implementing government policies to alleviate hunger and poverty in his country.^[65]

See also[link]

	Brazil portal
	Biography portal

• Lula, o filho do Brasil (Lula, The Son of Brasil), a Brazilian film about Lula's life up to 35 years of age.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Silva, Luis Inácio da; Castro, Cassiana Rosa de; Machado, Sueli de Fátima; Santos, Alveci Oliveira de Orato; Ferreira, Luiz Tarcísio Teixeira; Teixeira, Paulo; Suplicy, Marta; Dutra, Olívio (2003). "The programme for land tenure legalization on public land in São Paulo, Brazil." Environment and Urbanization 15 (2): 191–200.
• Bourne, R (2008). Lula of Brazil : The story so far. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24663-8
• Goertzel, Ted (2011). Brazil's Lula: The Most Popular Politician on Earth. Boca Raton, Florida: Brown Walker Press. ISBN 978-1-61233-505-6.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Charlie Rose
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva collected news and commentary at Bloomberg News
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva collected news and commentary at The Christian Science Monitor
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, BBC News, 28 January 2010
• The 2010 TIME 100: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Michael Moore, Time, 20 April 2010

Speeches

• Transcript of statements by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, to the high-level meeting for foreign investors, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 29 January 2004, (meeting press release)
• General Debate of the 64th Session, United Nations, 2009

Evo Morales
President of Bolivia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 22, 2006
Vice President	Álvaro García Linera
Preceded by	Eduardo Rodríguez
Personal details
Born	(1959-10-26) 26 October 1959 (age 52) Isallawi, Bolivia
Political party	Movement for Socialism

Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959), popularly known as Evo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeβo]), is a Bolivian politician and activist, serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party (MAS) and the cocalero trade union. Politically a socialist, his presidency has seen a focus on implementing leftist policies in the country, introducing a new constitution, land reforms, nationalising various key industries, opposing United States and corporate involvement in the country's politics, and poverty reduction measures.^[1]

Born into a working class Aymara family in Isallawi, Orinoca Canton, Evo grew up aiding his parents as a subsistence farmer. After studying for a degree, Morales undertook national service until 1978, when he returned to the family profession of farming, moving with them to Chapare Province. He eventually settled into growing coca, the plant from which cocaine is made. His activism led him into the political arena, and he eventually became the leader of the MAS, through which he got involved in social protests like the gas conflict and the Cochabamba protests of 2000. The MAS claimed that its aims were giving more power to the country's indigenous and poor communities by means of land reforms and redistribution of gas wealth, and gradually increased its electoral support.

Morales was first elected President of Bolivia on December 18, 2005, with 53.7% of the popular vote. Two and a half years later he substantially increased this majority; in a recall referendum on August 14, 2008, more than two thirds of voters voted to keep him in office.^[2][3] Morales won presidential elections again in December 2009 with 63% and continued to his second term of presidency.^[4]

A critic of the United States' foreign policy and the involvement of drug cartels in Latin America, he has been a firm ally of the socialist government of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and the Communist government of Fidel Castro in Cuba.

Early life and activism[link]

Childhood and education: 1959-1977[link]

A traditional Aymara ceremony (left); Poopó Lake was the dominant geographical feature around Evo's home village of Isallawi (right).[5]

Morales was born in Isallawi village, a rural community of around thirty houses scattered over an area of 4 square kilometres in Orinoca Canton, a part of the Oruro Department in western Bolivia, on 26 October 1959.^[5] He was one of seven children born to Dionisio Morales Choque and Maria Mamani; however, only Morales and two of his siblings, Esther and Hugo, survived past childhood.^[5][6][7] Indeed, his mother suffered a postpartum haemorrhage after giving birth to him, almost dying due to the absence of any doctors or midwives in the village.^[5] Ethnically a mestizo and thereby being of American Indian heritage, much of his ancestry came from the indigenous Aymara people, and in keeping with Aymara custom, his father buried the placenta produced after his birth in a place specially chosen for the occasion.^[5] He grew up speaking the Aymara language, although later commentators would remark that by the time he had become president he was no longer an entirely fluent speaker, something some critics would use against him.^[8][9]

Morales' family were farmers and from an early age he took part in his parents' work, aiding in planting and harvesting crops and guarding their herd of llamas and sheep, always taking a homemade soccer ball with him to amuse himself.^[5][6] His home was an adobe house with a dirt floor and straw roof, in keeping with Aymara cultural style.^[9] As a toddler, he briefly attended the preparatory school in Orinoca, although aged five he began schooling at the primary school in his home village, which consisted of a single room in which children of all ages were taught.^[10][11] Aged six, he travelled with his sister and father to northern Argentina for six months where his father worked harvesting sugar cane, and Evo himself sold ice cream as well as briefly attending school, but speaking only Aymara he had difficulty understanding the lessons, which were taught in Spanish, and he was forced to leave.^[10][12] As a child, he would also regularly travel by foot to Arani province in Cochabamba with his father and their llamas, a journey lasting up to two weeks, in order to exchange their salt and potatoes for maize and coca.^[9][13] A big fan of soccer, aged 13 he organised a community soccer team, 'The Fraternity', with himself as team captain. Within two years, he had been elected to the position of training coach for the whole region, gaining early experience with leadership.^[12][14]

After finishing primary education, Morales attended the Agrarian Humanistic Technical Institute of Orinoca (ITAHO), completing all but the final year.^[15] That year, his parents then sent him to study for a degree in Oruro, where although he did very poorly academically, he finished all of his courses and exams by 1977, meanwhile earning money on the side as a brick-maker, day labourer, baker and a trumpet player for the Royal Imperial Band, the latter of which allowed him to travel across Bolivia.^{[15][16][17][18]} However, at the end of his higher education he failed to collect his degree certificate, probably because of the expense that this would have entailed; in Bolivia, obtaining a "certificate for completed studies" was "a very costly and time-consuming affair."^[15] Although he had an interest in going on to study journalism at university, he didn't have the grades to pursue it as a profession.^[15][19]

Military service and El Chapare: 1978-1981[link]

At the time, the Bolivian government instituted mandatory conscription into the army, and so Morales had to serve in the armed forces between 1977 and 1978. He had initially signed up at the Centre for Instruction of Special Troops (CITE) in Cochabamba, but was instead sent into the 4th Ingavi Cavalry Regiment and stationed at the army headquarters in Bolivia's administrative capital La Paz to undertake his military service.^[15][19][20] These two years saw "one of Bolivia's politically most unstable periods", with five presidents and two military coups, led by General Juan Pereda and General David Padilla respectively.^[15] It was under the regime of the latter that Morales was stationed as a guard at the Palacio Quemado, or Presidential Palace.^[21]

The Palacio Quemado in La Paz, where Morales was a guard during part of his military service. Many years later it would be the building from which he governed the country.

At the end of his military service, Evo returned to his family, who had decided to move from Isallawi, where they had lived for four generations, and set up a new home in the Tropics of Cochabamba, located in the eastern Bolivian lowlands; this was brought about after the Orinoca communities had been hit by the El Niño storm cycle in 1980, which decimated the region's agriculture.^[18][19] In doing so, the Morales family were following in an Andean tradition that had been practiced since at least the time of the Inca Empire, that of moving between the different climatic zones in order to diversify their livelihoods; according to Andean tradition, the family ayllu, being a discontinuous territory, would move with them, but retain links to Isallawi.^[22] Setting up a new home in the town of Villa 14 de Septiembre, El Chapare with the help of a loan from Evo's maternal uncle, the Morales family cleared a plot of land in the semi-tropical forest, and proceeded to grow such crops as rice, oranges, grapefruit, papaya, bananas and later on also coca.^[23][24] The arrival of the Morales family was a part of a much wider migration to the region, with many Bolivians hoping to set up farms where they could earn a living growing coca, the plant from which cocaine is made, and was experiencing a steady rise in price and which could be cultivated up to four times a year; in 1981 El Chapare's population was 40,000 but by 1988 it had risen to 215,000.^[25]

In his new home, Evo got to know the local community by joining their soccer team, before going on to found his own team, named New Horizon, who proved victorious at the August 2nd Central Tournament.^[25] The El Chapare region would remain special to Evo for many years to come, for during his presidency he would often talk about it in public speeches and would return there whenever possible, frequenting one of three "locally renowned" fish restaurants for one of his favourite dishes, surubí.^[23]

[edit] Entering the cocalero union: 1981-1983

It was in El Chapare that Evo joined a cocalero union made up of coca producers, first getting involved in political activism. in 1980, the General Luis García Meza came to power.

A Bolivian man holding a coca leaf; coca has been a staple crop in Bolivia and other parts of Andean South America for centuries, where it is chewed as a stimulant and has become an integral part of rural culture. In the 20th century however it was adopted as a key ingredient in the production of cocaine, a narcotic which has been declared illegal across much of the world, leading the U.S. government to try and prevent the plant's cultivation throughout South America.

Further political instability rocked the nation when Luis García Meza was forced to resign, and in 1982 the left wing Democratic and Popular Union (Unidad Democrática y Popular - UDP) took power in representative democratic elections, with Hernán Siles Zuazo becoming president. However, with the Bolivian economy in crisis, the UDP implemented a series of neoliberal capitalist reforms to the economy, cutting back the state sector and opening the country up to foreign investment, privatizing companies. The reforms brought hyperinflation under control. The U.S. government then ordered further intervention in Bolivia as a part of the War on Drugs to destroy the illegal narcotics trade; as U.S. President George H.W. Bush proclaimed, "The fastest and cheapest way to eliminate narcotic trafficking is at its source... We need to do away with the plantations where they grow". Because coca was the key ingredient in the production of cocaine, the U.S. sent their own armed forces into El Chapare in order to aid the Bolivian authorities in halting its production.^[26]

In 1983, Evo's father Dionisio died, and so he temporarily retreated from his work with the cocalero syndicate to focus on organising his father's affairs.^[27] However, the Bolivian government angered Evo, who returned to campaigning on behalf of the coca drug cartels, that he liked to call "coca farmers" to disguise the fact that he was supporting the cocaine trade. He refused the $2,500 compensation offered by the government for each acre of coca that he eradicated; the campesinos was a very profitable means of subsistence. For them, the lucrative trade in cocaine had them rich, and they resented the government for cutting off the cash flow. They tried to paint it as issue of national sovereignty, and they did their best to villainize the U.S., equating them helping the Bolivian government to crack down on the drug trade with invading imperalists proclaiming "Long live coca! Death to the Yankees!" ("Causachun coca! Wañuchun yanquis!").^[28] From 1982 to 1983, Evo served as the General Secretary of his local San Francisco syndicate, before serving as Secretary of Records from 1984 to 1985, and then General Secretary of the August 2nd Headquarters in 1985.^[28]

[edit] General Secretary of the Cocalero Union: 1985-1994

By 1985, Morales was elected general secretary in a union of farmers growing coca for the drug cartels and by 1988 was elected executive secretary of the Tropics Federation.^[29] He retains this position to this day, even while serving as President of Bolivia. Around this time the Bolivian government, encouraged by the US, began a program to eradicate most coca production. By 1996 Morales was made president of the Coordinating Committee of the Six Federations of the Tropics of Cochabamba.^[29] Morales was among those opposing the government's position on coca and lobbied in favor the drug cartels. This opposition often resulted in him being jailed. Morales was a talented leader, taking coca production, and drug production as a symbol of Andean culture. He said that coca or cocaine was in danger of extinction and the evil imperialists led of course by the U.S., were oppressing them, by fighting the drug trade. Furthermore, he presented the coca growers working for the drug cartels as victims of a wealthy, urban social elite, who had bowed to U.S. pressure. Morales soon led a 600 km march from Cochabamba to the Bolivian capital La Paz.

Early political activity[link]

The ASP, IPSP and MAS: 1995-1999[link]

Members of the sindicato social movement first began suggesting that they move into the political arena in 1986. This suggestion brought much disagreement, with many fearing that a move into politics would lead the social movement to be co-opted for personal gain by politicians, who were widely mistrusted by the activists.^[30] Evo Morales began supporting the formation of a political wing in 1989, although a consensus in favor of its formation only emerged in 1993.^[31] On March 27, 1995, at the seventh congress of the Unique Confederation of Rural Laborers of Bolivia (Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia - CSUTCB), such a "political instrument" - a term intentionally employed over "political party" - was finally founded, named the Assembly for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (Asamblea por la Sobernía de los Pueblos - ASP).^[31][32] The ASP soon held its first congress, at which the CSUTCB participated along with three other Bolivian unions, the FNMB, CSCB and CIDOB, representing miners, peasants and indigenous peoples respectively.^[31]

Nonetheless, the National Electoral Court (Corte Nacional Electoral - CNE) prevented Morales or any of his fellow activists running for political office under the ASP banner by refusing to recognize it, citing minor procedural infringements.^[31] The coca activists circumvented this problem by instead running under the banner of the United Left (IU), a coalition of leftist parties that had been founded in 1988 and which was headed by the Communist Party of Bolivia (Partido Comunista Boliviano - PCB).^[31][32] They went on to win landslide victories in those areas which were local strongholds of the movement, producing 11 mayors and 49 municipal councilors.^[31] In the subsequent national elections of 1997, the IU/ASP gained four seats in Congress, obtaining 3.7% of the national vote, with this rising to 17.5% in the department of Cochabamba.^[33] Morales was among the four activists elected to Congress, representing the provinces of Chapare and Carrasco, and carrying 70% of the votes in his electoral district.^[32]

MAS-IPSP partisans celebrate the 16th anniversary of the IPSP party's founding in Sacaba, Cochabamba.

Rising electoral success was accompanied by factional in-fighting, with a leadership contest emerging in the ASP between the incumbent Alejo Véliz and Evo Morales, who had the electoral backing of the social movement's bases.^[33] Morales and his supporters subsequently split from Véliz and the ASP and formed their own party, the Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos - IPSP).^[33][34] The movement's bases soon defected en masse to the IPSP, leaving the ASP to crumble and Véliz to join the centre-right New Republican Force (Nueva Fuerza Republicana - NFR), for which Morales denounced him as a traitor.^[35]

Morales came to an agreement with David Añez Pedraza, the leader of a defunct yet still registered party named the Movement for Socialism (MAS); under this agreement, Morales and the Six Federaciónes could take over the party name, with Pendraza stipulating the condition that they must maintain its own acronym, name and colors. Thus the defunct right wing MAS became the flourishing left wing vehicle for the coca activist movement known as the Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples.^[32][35] The MAS is described as "an indigenous-based political party that calls for the nationalization of industry, legalization of the coca leaf … and fairer distribution of national resources."^[36]

Morales and the MAS went on to contest the local elections of December 5, 1999.

Expulsion from Congress[link]

While Morales was a Member of Congress, the governments of Hugo Banzer and Jorge Quiroga broadened the eradication campaign through Plan Dignidad. The cocaine producing region of Chapare which Morales represented was beset with hundreds of police and military officers who were seen by Morales as "committing an innumerable amount of abuses and assassinations which violated the most basic human rights and liberties."^[32] Morales denounced the militarization and said that the government was committing a massacre in the Chapare, he declared that the peasants had a right to resist militarily against the troops who were said to be shooting at protesters.^[32] Then three police officers were slain when they attempted to close a coca market.^[20] In light of Morales' comments about armed resistance on January 24, 2002 a 104-member majority of Congress voted to have him expelled. The Congressional Ethics Commission declared that Morales had committed "serious inadequacies in the execution of his duties."^[32] With his popularity rising for standing up to an unpopular government, on March 5, 2002, he submitted an objection to the Constitutional Tribunal saying his rights had been violated. He said his right to defend himself, to the presumption of innocence, and to parliamentary immunity had all been unjustly ignored.^[32]

2002 presidential elections[link]

Evo Morales (right) with French labor union leader José Bové, in 2002.

The same day he petitioned the Constitutional Tribunal, Morales resigned from the Confederation of Coca Producers of Cochabamba and was endorsed by the Six Federations of the Tropics as the MAS 2002 presidential candidate.^[32] The supportive crowd cheered him on saying "Kausachum coca!" ("Long live coca!") and "Huaiñuchum yanquis!" ("Down with Yankees!"), they also "hoisted the wiphala, the multi-colored checkered flag that is the emblem of the Andean cultures, along with the standard tri-colored Bolivian flag."^[32]

In the 2002 presidential election, Morales came in second place, a surprising upset for Bolivia's traditional parties. This made the indigenous activist an instant celebrity throughout the continent. Morales credited his near victory in part to comments made by then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Manuel Rocha, who warned, "As a representative of the United States, I want to remind the Bolivian electorate that if you elect those who want Bolivia to become a major cocaine exporter again, this will endanger the future of U.S. assistance to Bolivia."^[37] Morales said that these remarks helped to "awaken the conscience of the people."

2005 presidential elections[link]

In 2005, President Carlos Mesa resigned under pressure by MAS and their supporters, led by Morales, by means of road blocks and riots.^[38][39] Because of this, and as a result of growing discontent and popular unrest, Congress and President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé decided to move up the 2007 elections to December 2005.
At a gathering of farmers celebrating the 10th anniversary of the founding of MAS in March 2005, Morales declared, "MAS is ready to rule Bolivia", having "consolidated its position as the [prime] political force in the country". He also said, "the problem is not winning the elections anymore but knowing how to rule the country."^[40]

Preliminary polls placed Morales and the Movement for Socialism in an uncomfortable three-way tie with center and right wing forces and urban majority leaders Jorge Quiroga, from the party Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS), and Samuel Doria Medina, with only a few points' difference. By August 21, Morales had chosen his running mate for the presidential elections, left-wing ideologist, sociologist, mathematician, and political analyst Álvaro García Linera, who fought alongside of Felipe Quispe as part of the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army (EGTK).