Brazil's Bizarro Sarah Palin
Brazil’s Bizarro Sarah Palin, former Environment Minister Marina Silva, has just resigned from the ruling Worker’s Party in protest of the party’s neglect of environmental concerns. The move by Silva, a popular rain forest activist who had been a 30-year party member, is also believed to be an attempt to ramp up support for a run at the presidency next year. — J.C.
The Guardian:
Brazil’s former environment minister, the rainforest defender Marina Silva, has resigned from the ruling Workers’ party, paving the way for a 2010 presidential bid, which supporters hope will put the environment back on the political agenda of South America’s largest country.
For weeks speculation has been growing that Silva, who resigned from government last May after a dispute over the development of the Amazon region, would defect to the Green party in order to dispute the presidential elections next October.
Speaking at a press conference in Brasilia earlier today, Silva, who has been a Workers’ party member for over 30 years, said politicians had failed to give sufficient attention to the environmental cause.