Hope and strong leadership are in short supply these days. But if you want a shot of both as well as a glimpse into a story that resonates worldwide, meet Marina Silva, a woman who rose up from crushing poverty, working as a housekeeper to make ends meet, to become the current front-runner in Brazil's presidential election.
Until mid-August, Silva was not much more than a footnote in Brazil's political life. That is not to say she was not important. Her story had long been an inspiring one to Brazilians. The 56-year-old was born in the Brazilian state of Acre on a rubber tree plantation. Of mixed racial ancestry, she was raised in a family with 11 children, and spent much of her childhood wracked by tropical diseases. By the time she was 16, she had been orphaned. Educated in a convent, she became not only the first person in her family to learn to read and write, but by age 26 she had earned a history degree.
Early in her political career she teamed up with Amazon environmental activist Chico Mendes to fight the destruction of the rain forest. Riding the popularity she achieved for her activism, she was elected to Brazil's Senate in 1994. In this role she fought for the passage of laws and regulations that reversed the trend of the destruction of the Brazilian jungles that are so vital to the global environment that they have been called "the lungs of the planet" because they produce one-fifth of the world's oxygen.
Her work led to her appointment as a minister in the administration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Her colleagues in the government remember her as focused, effective, knowledgeable and impressive. Ultimately, her passion for the environment produced rifts between her and some who saw her as uncompromising on critical issues of economic development. She resigned from her post in the spring of 2008.
A year later she became the Green Party candidate for president of Brazil and, despite winning roughly one out of five votes in the first round of the elections, did not qualify for the runoff stage. She switched to the Socialist Party in 2013 and earlier this year became their candidate for vice president on a ticket headed by Eduardo Campos. But on Aug. 13, Campos was killed in a plane crash. In the weeks that followed, Silva, his successor, rose so quickly in the polls that while she is seen as likely to finish second to current leader Dilma Rousseff in the Oct. 5 first round of elections, she is thought to have an advantage to defeat Rousseff in the runoff stage.
Brazilian political insiders note that Lula has remained relatively silent on the issue of his preferences, leading one such insider to conclude that Lula, like many Brazilians, has grown disaffected with Rousseff's dour, combative stance and her overall lackluster performance as president.
Much can change and certainly, to some degree, Silva's rise has been fueled by the shock and sympathy that followed Campos's death. But as her impressive career demonstrates, she has been lifted by more than just a twist of fate. This is an extraordinarily formidable woman whose rise offers lessons and resonances that should touch many far beyond Brazil's borders.
First, it must be noted that the one thing that is certain is that the next president of Brazil will again be a woman. Rousseff and Silva lead third-place candidate Aécio Neves by substantial margins and rumors already have him seeking to broker a deal with Silva to announce his support for her immediately after the first-round election results are announced. In a world in which women are still far from being as politically empowered as any sense of equity or justice would dictate, the world's fifth-most populous nation offers the first campaign in memory for the head of state post in a large country where both of the top contenders are women.
Silva — who has indigenous, Afro-Brazilian and Portuguese ancestors, but describes herself as black — would be the first such president in a country that is both proud of its enormous racial diversity but has yet to see that pride produce truly representative results at the highest political levels. She would certainly also represent an extraordinary climb up the country's socioeconomic ladder. In addition to the above, Silva could become the world's first "green" president. That's especially important given Brazil's centrality and leadership on environmental issues.
In all these things, the example offered by the Brazilian elections is one illustrating the promise of democracy for remaking societies, righting old wrongs, and offering a voice to the disenfranchised. To those in corners of the world where democracy has yet to take hold, Brazil's story — and Silva's — should serve as a source of inspiration. Frequently in its history and from 1964 through 1985, Brazil was dominated by military governments, which often employed brutal and repressive tactics. (Rousseff herself was a guerrilla who fought the military regime and was brutally tortured as a consequence.) But since then, not only was democracy restored but a form of democracy has emerged that actively embraced the formerly disenfranchised — from Lula, who left school in second grade to help support his family, to Rousseff, to Silva. Today, it seems Brazilians are actively seeking leaders who not only can speak words of caring for the people at large but who viscerally feel it.
In her campaign rallies, Silva's supporters are well aware of the story behind her passionate speeches. In this respect, her rise should be instructive from Brasilia to Washington, D.C., whether she is elected or not. Rousseff is seen as a cerebral technocrat, a drone president who has done little to inspire during her time in office. What fizz there was in her own story — in being the first woman to become president of Brazil — has long since dissipated. Her closeness to the extraordinarily popular Lula has become open to question. Indeed, it seems in many respects that while Rousseff may be Lula's chosen successor, Silva is now being perceived by many as much more his successor in spirit.
Silva, as the first person of Afro-Brazilian background to have a real chance at becoming president, is sometimes referred to as Brazil's Barack Obama. In that there is one more cautionary tale and one more lesson. Obama too was different, offered a story of unprecedented empowerment, and was inspiring. But in a way, he has become his own Rousseff: What once inspired now fuels disappointment. In that, there should be a warning for Brazilians: The passions of election seasons can fade quickly when great speechmakers are asked to govern.
But there should also be a lesson for Obama — a chance to look at Silva and be reminded of what made him a phenomenon in America in 2008. He can look into her eyes, read her story, and see a leader whose heart is still full and whose aspirations are still growing.
Silva, the woman who may be and should be Brazil's next president, has in her life and her message something to offer everyone from the poorest, most disenfranchised citizen of a Middle Eastern autocracy to the president of the United States himself.
