Financial Times interviews Lula and Alckmin

Financial Times' Richard Lapper and Jonathan Wheatley has made two long interviews with two leading candidates in the upcoming Brazilian presidential election.

Both Lula and Alackmin are the type of politicians who really try to convincing people by making points rather than by making sensational appeals, which is a bless for Brazilian politics. Indeed, from the long-term historic perspetive, Brazil is probably the most peaceful (baring the everyday petty street crims and the recent Sao Paolo riot) nation in the World. Immigrants from different origins, of different skin colors live quite comfortably along each other (relative to other immigrant nations), and even the military coups turned out to be the least bloody than they usually should be.

Let's see what they have to say to all of us, on the future of Brazil, and how they plan to make it a better one:

Interview transcript: Geraldo Alckmin (Centrist)
Interview transcript: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Left)

My general impression is that,   the two's policies are not fundamentally different (partly because Lula is not that type of radical left, and partly because Alckmin really doesn't have anything new and concrete to impress and convince voters), and Alckmin's inexperience is going to cost him dearly.  Alckmin is much less eloquent and charismatic than Lula, and I don't see hard evidence that Alckmin can really get things done despite his repeated claim that "we have a lot of experiences" in this and in that.

I would bet that Lula is going to be re-elected by large margin.