Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil spoke in Gaston Hall yesterday as part of a tour promoting his new memoir The Accidental President of Brazil.
The Mortara Center for International Studies and the Brazilian Studies Program at the Center for Latin American Studies hosted Cardoso’s speech. The memoir’s title refers to his path from exiled sociologist to the arguable savior of the Brazilian economy. The book, he said, is truly a story of Brazil and simply uses his career as a “pretext.”
While his most recent position helped him achieve greater fame, both Professor Carol Lancaster of the Mortara Center and Professor Arturo Venezuela of the Center for Latin American Studies first described Cardoso’s vital academic contributions during the Cold War.
“I refer to him as Professor Cardoso instead of President Cardoso, because, for those of us in his field, we remember his accomplishments as an intellectual,” Venezuela said.
His past as an academic was evident in his analytical narrative of Braxil’s transition from dictatorship to democracy, where he mentioned the contemporary importance of the unions and nongovernmental organizations in the political process.
His background in sociology was apparent from his discussion of how cultural difficulties impede strong Brazilian relations with the United States and the European Union. While he recognized the inherent discord, he argued that the EU must lower trade tariffs.
Cardoso also commented on the cultural divergence on the issue of HIV in Brazil, which accounts for 57 percent of the HIV cases in South America. Despite resistance from Catholic organizations, Cardoso said he supported the use of contraception over abstinence as a means of disease prevention.
“We have safe sex, not no sex. That’s not the Brazilian way,” Cardoso said, drawing laughter from the audience.
Despite his ideological disagreement with current President Luis Inacio Lula de Silva, Cardoso appeared optimistic regarding the future of his country. He expressed hope that Brazil would be a great, participant in the international community.
“We believe that Brazil will have a constructive role in the world, not a negative one,” he said.
