Lula Speaks on Goldman Case

In an interview with Fareed Zakaria of CNN that was broadcast yesterday, the Brazilian president Lula spoke for what I believe is the first time about the Sean Goldman case (read my description of the case here). He gave the party line — that the executive branch had done all it could, and that this was a case for the courts to decide — but added a few unexpected notes. Most surprisingly, he called the situation "more or less the same story" as the Elian Gonzalez case, adding: "In the same way that the courts made the decision in the United States, I hope the decision is made in Brazil and that it is the fairest possible."

Parse that as you will, but it's not a stretch to say that Lula may have been implying the boy should be returned. In 2000, American courts determined that Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy whose mother had died escaping with him to Florida, should be returned to his father in Cuba from his maternal relatives in Miami. It's pretty clear that the parallel decision in Brazil would return Sean Goldman to his father in New Jersey.

He also said that "I believe the decision of the Federal court will be sovereign, and more fair," implying the decisions of the Rio de Janeiro courts (not the Sao Paulo courts, as he said) have been less than fair.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/brazil/090325/lula-speaks-goldman-case