Lula opts for a quiet life

　　Apr 4

　　Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is not a man in a hurry. Five months after he won a second term in a presidential election, he has finally put the finishing touches to a new cabinet. This massive 36-member contraption should guarantee him relatively tranquil relations with Congress and a safe passage through the rest of his four-year term.

　　The second edition of Lula's government is likely to produce fewer rows between economic reformers and left-wing dissenters. Lula's left-leaning Workers' Party (PT), which is even more sceptical, has lost influence. It will remain the biggest force in the cabinet with 16 seats, including the key economic-policy jobs.

　　In his first term Lula's reluctance to share power with other parties led to a congressional vote-buying scandal that nearly destroyed his presidency. This time he has given five plump ministries—controlling 44% of the federal investment budget—to the centrist Party of the Brazilian Democracy Movement (PMDB), the largest in Congress. Luciano Dias of the Brazilian Institute of Political Studies sees in this the start of a durable centre-left alliance that could realign the country's politics.

　　卢拉选择宁静的生活

　　路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦不是一个做事匆忙的人。在赢得第二个总统任期5个月后，他才给新内阁的组建加上了收尾之笔。这个庞大的36个成员组成的不同寻常的新班子应该能够使他和国会相对和平共处并平稳地度过4年任期余下的时间。

　　卢拉的第二届政府，经济改革派和左翼反对派之间的争吵可能会减少。卢拉左倾的、持更加怀疑态度的“工人党”已经失去了影响力。它占据16个席位，包括主要的制定经济政策的职位，仍将是内阁中最强大的一股势力。

　　在第一个任期内，卢拉不愿意分权给其它党派，这导致了国会购买选票的丑闻，并几乎毁了他的总统宝座。这一次他给了国会中最大的党派、处于中间的巴西民主运动党5个部长席位的肥缺。这5个席位控制着44%的联邦投资预算。巴西政治研究院的卢恰诺·迪亚斯认为，这是可持续的中-左联盟的开始。这个联盟有可能重新组合巴西的政治力量。