By Andrew L. Jaffee

Brazil has a hidden but serious problem of slave labor. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 40,000 slaves working in Brazil today.

- CSM, 2/16/07

This from a country run by leftists, where the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party) and a motley crew of other kookie “socialist” parties hold the reigns in Brazil’s Congress. How could these guys back off of stopping slavery?

A decision by Brazil’s Congress to curb the powers of labor auditors threatens to jeopardize an antislavery program that led to the release of more than 15,000 slaves and made Brazil a world leader in fighting indentured servitude, officials and activists said here this week.

If you think o chefe do Partido dos Trabalhadores and Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is “left-wing,” then think again. Lula started betraying his “socialist” agenda back in 2003:

…in some areas the new government of President Luiz Inácio da Silva (”Lula”) has been even more austere than its predecessor, raising the target for the primary fiscal surplus…

…the government proposes to increase the retirement age for civil servants from 53 to 60 for men and from 48 to 55 for women. It would also cap monthly pensions of currently retired public employees at $6,300; future public and private employees would have their payments capped at an even lower level, with an option for additional private pension plans. Most controversial of all is its proposal to levy an 11 percent income tax on current civil servant pensions.

I’m all for free market reforms, but when “socialists” won’t stand up to slavery, I’ve heard enough dogmatic crap. Er, ah… wasn’t the point of communism to empower and free workers? Marx and Engels certainly didn’t want to see slavery continue into the 21st century. Just wait until Lula makes a statement about economic realities…

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Related: Political Correctness, Society, Latin America

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