An Egyptian revolutionary candidate looked to Lula’s Brazil as a democratic development model

Evidence

New elections did go ahead in May 2012. The Muslim Brotherhood would be represented by Mohamed Morsi, who was rigid and conservative by the previous standards of the Islamist group. Candidate Ahmed Shafik represented a continuation of the Mubarak approach to governing. Hamdeen Sabahi, a Nasserist social democrat and one of the founders of the Kefaya coalition back in 2004, promised a fairer economy and full democratization. In interviews and private conversations, he sometimes pointed to a development path forged far outside the Arab world—he was inspired by Brazilian president Lula, who had governed democratically and improved the lives of the poor without breaking with the global system. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 303

Categorization

• XREF: Sabahi’s Lula inspiration connects to global debates about social-democratic reform within the world-system rather than revolutionary rupture. — connects to: Brazil’s Lula era advanced black rights via affirmative action and anti-racism law — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 1205
• SEED: Interesting lens for an essay: the ways Arab Spring-era actors looked to Latin American pink-tide models — and what followed when those paths closed.

Broader Connections

• Brazil’s Lula era advanced black rights via affirmative action and anti-racism law #expands (0.72) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 1205