Given your past, what is it like becoming a public figure, almost a celebrity?

“It took a while to understand exactly how I felt. It seemed like I was a turtle and they had somehow taken my shell off, as if I was naked. It feels like you are in front of the world, unprotected, but it is only momentary.”

(Marie Claire, April 2009)

"There are people who live their entire lives wanting to be President of the Republic. I was much more modest. I got involved in politics because I wanted to serve.”

Do you believe in God?

“I was baptized in the Catholic Church, but I no longer attend church. Yet, when I fly I always say a little prayer. I have a strong relationship with Our Lady, the Virgin Mother from my days studying under the nuns at school.”

(Marie Claire, April 2009)

Are you afraid of death?

“No, I don’t fear death. In fact, I didn’t fear death when my doctors diagnosed my lymphoma. They discovered it early and I was treated. It was terrible and very painful, but I was cured. During that time I learned to appreciate the mundane, daily things of life. I am conscious of these things at every moment, so I’ve learned not to fear death.”

(Rolling Stone — Brazil Edition, September 2010)

Many leaders, politicians, and business people become so involved in their work that they neglect their emotional lives. You are single. What is it like to deal with loneliness?

“I’m not single, no. I am very well accompanied. I feel great with myself as companionship. To be lonely you have to feel needy, lonesome. I don’t feel lonesome at 60, but we all can feel this at 30.”

(Marie Claire, April 2009)

Why did you begin your militancy in the student movement?

“With the onset of the dictatorship, some segments of the middle class began to radicalize. As a 16-year-old I couldn’t understand how democracy could exist one month and then be gone the next. Students began to organize demonstrations, street theater and festivals against the dictatorship. Those who were leftist militants, who struggled against the dictatorship, went clandestine in 1968. I was one of these people.”

(Marie Claire, April 2009)

“I can guarantee you that I have worked seven years in this government without getting my hands dirty."

Are you proud of your participation in this movement, or would you rather forget it?

“I am very proud of having fought against the military dictatorship and always will. I fought for democracy. The military dictatorship cast a shadow over Brazil. It was an era of repression, violence and the absence of fundamental freedoms and rights. I belonged to political organizations that fought the dictatorship, but I didn’t directly participate in the armed struggle. I was imprisoned, tortured and sentenced.”

(Rolling Stone — Brazil Edition, September 2010)

Why do you think President Lula chose you to succeed him as president, and when did this happen?

“President Lula chose me four times. The first was for his transition team in 2002, when he succeeded Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The president chose me to coordinate the infrastructure policy area because I worked with him at his Citizenship Institute. Afterwards, he nominated me as Minister of Mines and Energy. In 2005, he nominated me as his chief-of-staff. Lastly, he chose me to become the Worker's Party’s presidential candidate to continue the government’s policies and programs. I think it was a good decision because I played a role in the development of his government’s major projects. He knew that together we could complete these projects.”

(Istoé, May 2010)

Did you always have a personal ambition to become the President of Brazil?

“This is a special moment in my life, maybe the high point. There are people who live their entire lives wanting to be President of the Republic. I was much more modest. I got involved in politics because I wanted to serve.”

(Istoé, May 2010)

“I am very proud of having fought against the military dictatorship and always will. I fought for democracy."

What is the significance of your election as President of Brazil?

“So, I am here to state my first post-election commitment: To honor Brazilian women so that this unprecedented electoral victory now becomes something normal and can be repeated and expanded in companies, public institutions and organizations that are representative of our entire society.”

(Retriever Weekly, November 2010)

Is it possible to eradicate poverty through government action?

“Brazil’s Institute of Applied Political Economy (IPEA) issued a study that shows that it is possible to eradicate extreme poverty and misery by 2016 in Brazil. However, the well-known businessman Jorge Gerdau often says that ‘any achieved goal is the wrong goal.’ Goals are not set to be achieved — rather, they are set to establish objectives and propel an effort. Given this, I believe that 2016 is viable if we continue the policies and programs of the Lula government.”

(Istoé, May 2010)

Do you agree with the monetary policy implemented by Brazil’s Central Bank?

“Yes. I think that from the perspective of the Central Bank’s mission, it has carried out the interest rate policies that we need. In the United States, where there is a longer history of economic stability, the Federal Reserve has two goals, keeping down inflation while promoting job creation. In my government, we will be able to pursue policies that achieve both goals.”

(Istoé, May 2010)

“We will dialogue in peace with all nations, including Iran. We don’t have a policy of violence and aggression. Whoever wants to dialogue with us in peace is welcome."

No political party can completely ignore corruption. What is your commitment to combating such crimes in Brazil?

“I can guarantee you that I have worked seven years in this government without getting my hands dirty. I guarantee you that President Lula has governed in an extraordinary way and without getting his hands dirty. With respect to ethics, and what all governments should do, as Brazil has done since 2003, is make transparent all problems related to corruption.”

(Rolling Stone — Brazil Edition, September 2010)

Are you in favor of re-election?

“Yes. I think it is very important.”

(Istoé, May 2010).

Would you step aside from the possibility of re-election if President Lula wanted to run again in 2014?

“He has already told me not to respond to such a question.”

(Istoé, May 2010)

Is it true that Brazil is ready to combat climate change, but not at the cost of economic growth?

“Do you know what proportion of the European Union’s energy portfolio is renewable? Only 12-15%. Brazil’s energy production includes 46% renewable. Brazil demonstrates that it is possible to grow and at the same time develop a renewable energy portfolio, combat deforestation and adopt policies and programs that protect the environment.”

(Deutsche Welle, December 2009)

"I am here to state my first post-election commitment: To honor Brazilian women so that this unprecedented electoral victory now becomes something normal."

In your vision, what is Brazil’s role in the world today?

“It is not rhetoric — Brazil is very important. We have demonstrated that it is possible to grow while protecting the environment. We are a country that historically suffered from high concentrations of income, comparable with Africa. However, today I think that Brazil can demonstrate another development model, a new conception of society, and more importantly, new positions in foreign policy.”

(Deutsche Welle, December 2009)

Will your government change Brazil’s foreign policy orientation?

“We will dialogue in peace with all nations, including Iran. We don’t have a policy of violence and aggression. Whoever wants to dialogue with us in peace is welcome. Of course, I will show my disapproval of Iran’s human rights abuses through diplomacy. I have a very intransigent posture with respect to human rights, and this will be reflected in my diplomacy and defense of human rights. My posture may not be strident, because at times we must negotiate.”

(Press conference at Brazil’s Presidential Palace on November 3, 2010)

And finally, what do you think of the currency war?

“All countries, not only China and the United States, know that there is a currency war. In this type of situation there is no individual solution. Brazil will insist that the G-20 negotiate and develop sufficient controls over the global financial system to avert the crisis of 2008.”

(Press conference at Brazil’s Presidential Palace on November 3, 2010)

Editor’s Note: The questions and responses in this feature were extracted from various interviews. The original Portuguese was translated by Mark S. Langevin, Ph.D.

Each edition of "Read My Lips" presents quotes made by the featured individual at the time specified in the answers. However, it is a "virtual" interview only — insofar as we have added questions in order to provide a better context to the thoughts expressed.