Posted by Rachel
President Lula is making a big splash in the U.S. this week, where he’s attending several important events. 
First, he accepted an award from the Woodrow Wilson Center, where he celebrated with other world leaders. Yesterday, he attended the UN General Assembly in New York, where he gave a long speech (watch and read the speech here). Now he is off to Pittsburgh for the G20 Summit.
Also, Lula was featured in Newsweek this week as “the most popular politician on earth” — read the article here. There’s also a special Q and A section with Lula available on the Newsweek website.
Posted by Rachel
Oliver Stone’s new documentary, South of the Border, is due to be released soon, and President Lula will appear, along with several other Latin American presidents, including the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Cuba, and starring Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Check out the trailer below, and listen closely to the clip with Lula! (the rest is in Spanish)
Posted by Rachel
At this week’s G-8 summit in Italy, President Lula of Brazil gave President Obama an official Brazil soccer jersey signed by members of the national team.
The signatures included those of “Edmílson, Gomes, Lúcio, Vágner Love, Daniel Carvalho, Gilberto Silva, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Elano, Robinho, Júlio Baptista, Alex and Dida.”
President Lula also teased President Obama about the US team’s 3-2 loss to Brazil last week, chanting “Yes, we can” several times. Obama joked about the game and took the teasing lightly, making a sad face while holding up the shirt to show his disappointment in the US loss. Lula also gave the same signed shirts to members of the G-5 earlier in the week.
Posted by Rachel
This week, we’re going to practice learning comprehension by watching three videos featuring Brazilian President Lula Inácio da Silva. The president has a Northeastern accent, so it may be a bit challenging for beginners to understand.
In the first video, President Lula talks about soccer and his favorite team. In the second, he addresses Brazilians living abroad, and in the third, discusses social inclusion and the Internet.
Have a look:
Posted by Rachel
Brazil’s President Lula announced an ambitious plan this week to stimulate the economy and to ward off the global crisis. The plan is to invest R$34 billion (US$15.1 billion) into constructing homes for working class families.
The plan also aims to create 1.5 million jobs and to increase the country’s growth rate. However, 6.5 billion reais will be taken away from other government programs, which the administration has not named. The plan comes as a response to rising unemployment rates, a falling GDP, and predictions of an overall shrinking economy.
Families who make less than R$1,395 per month will be eligible to buy their own houses with payments as minimal as R$50 per month. Families who make less than R$2,790 per month will be able to receive subsidies for their homes. The plan calls for a million homes to be built, with the help of construction companies Gafisa and Tenda.
Lula’s popularity has been affected by the crisis, and the economy has had a large impact on Brazilian politics in the last few months.
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