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01/20/2005:

"Lula flies into flak with new jet"

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former union leader sworn to fighting poverty, has flown into flak after taking delivery of a £30m presidential plane.

The state-of-the-art Airbus, which has already been dubbed AeroLula, seats 55 people and has hi-tech communications, meeting rooms, an intensive care unit, and a presidential suite and shower. The leader sampled its delights yesterday, visiting a Colombian border town.

The image seems at odds with a man whose 2002 election campaign was built around ending hunger.

The furore comes amid a sense of disappointment that the Lula administration has kept orthodox economic policies and, some say, relegated lofty social aims.
guardian.co.uk