The road not (yet?) taken: The workers’ Party (PT) in national power in Brazil

It is an accepted fact that Lula's national victory in Brazil's presidential elections of October of 2002 marked a turning point for Brazilian democracy. The election of a militant labor leader and political prisoner of humble origins was in many ways unprecedented and was met with great expectation, especially from the country's poor majority who helped propel one of their own to power. For PT activists this marked the end of a long quest for national power that had eluded them in 1989, 1994 and 1998, and included years of grass-roots organising and two decades of managing local administrations of all sizes. In an atmosphere of festivity that dominated Brasilia in early 2003, Lula marked the beginning of his administration with a series of symbolic acts. One was to institute the Council for Economic and Social Development, thereby enshrining popular voice in the national administration. Shortly after, Lula received a genuine hero's welcome at the World Social Forum in January of2003, talking before thousands of adoring activists from the Global North and South.