Politics · Brazil · 17 hrs ago
Historian Leslie Bethell recalls backing Lula and the PT
British historian Leslie Bethell has spent decades studying Brazil and shaping how scholars abroad understand its history.
He and fellow historian Eric Hobsbawm celebrated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 2002 presidential election from Oxford, England.
Both supported Lula's Workers' Party, or PT, and hoped his victory would bring progress for the left.
Hobsbawm warned that disappointment could follow, a prediction Bethell recalls with hindsight.
Bethell says he sees himself as a person of the left, but in Brazil he has been viewed by some as a conservative who defends the British Empire.
His work helped bring Brazil into major histories of Latin America, including a Cambridge University Press series he edited.
He also founded Oxford University's Centre for Brazilian Studies, which closed in 2007 after a lack of interest from the Brazilian government and British academic peers.
Historian Leslie Bethell and his friend Eric Hobsbawm supported Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Workers’ Party in Brazil’s 2002 presidential election.
The two historians watched the vote count from Oxford, England, and celebrated Lula’s victory together.
Bethell recalled that their political backgrounds and left-wing sympathies shaped their support for Lula.
Bethell, a leading English-language researcher on Brazilian history, is due to turn 90 in February 2027.
He helped shape Cambridge’s Latin American history series and founded Oxford University’s Centre for Brazilian Studies.
- Who
- Historian Leslie Bethell and his friend, historian Eric Hobsbawm.
- What
- They supported Lula and the Workers’ Party and celebrated Lula’s 2002 election victory.
- When
- October 2002.
- Where
- Oxford, England.
- Why
- Their social backgrounds and political sympathies led them to support Lula and the left.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Bethell and Hobsbawm watched Brazil’s presidential vote count from Oxford as Lula was elected.
Bethell and Hobsbawm celebrated together, opening two bottles of sparkling wine.
Bethell is due to turn 90.
- Candidate
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Party
- Workers’ Party (PT)
- Election
- Brazil’s 2002 presidential election
- Celebration location
- Oxford, England
- Age milestone
- Bethell turns 90 in February 2027
What people are saying
We spoke on the phone, watching the vote count.
We were excited.
A victory for the left! A victory for socialism!
Now, all we can do is wait for the disappointment.