Obama speaks at the Municipal Theater

The guests were all carefully searched before entering. The theater was almost full – there were more than 2,000 people. Local Brazilian bands played music before the speech, many of them from city slums such as the one that Obama and his family visited earlier in the day (Cidade de Deus). According to American authorities, after the speech Obama will return to the Marriot Hotel in Copacabana. Later he and his family will go to the Christ the Redeemer statue.

The speech was a relaxed affair. Obama wore a sports coat, but no tie. He began by greeting the audience in Portuguese – “Hey, there, Marvelous City,” he said (Rio is “Cidade Maravilhosa,” in an old very popular song). He then apologized for making his speech during an important soccer game between two very popular teams in the city (Vasco and Botafogo) saying that a lot of people would probably prefer to see the game.

Obama said he knew a little about Brazilian passion for soccer. And he recalled how his mother had a passion for Brazil, something she got seeing the film “Orfeu Negro”, which was filmed in a Rio hillside slum (“Morro do Chapéu Mangueira”).

“I’m sure my mother never imagined that when I finally got to Brazil I would be president of the United States,” said Obama. “And she would be surprised to see that it is a country even more beautiful than she imagined. You are indeed a tropical country, blessed by God and beautiful by nature.”

Obama went on to say, at the moment an international coalition is firing missiles at Libya, that countries are sovereign and should not be invaded. He defended democracy as a principle and right of citizens everywhere in the world.

Obama mentioned various aspects of Brazilian culture and called the country an example of a solid democracy.

“No nation should impose itself on another nation,” declared Obama to applause. “Where the lamp of liberty is on, the world is more illuminated. That is the example Brazil makes for the world.”

“Democracy is a great partner in human progress. Democracy offers opportunities for all citizens who want to be treated with respect,” Obama added.

And speaking of the US experience with democracy, he said what had been learned was that it is essential to work together even when people disagree. “The process may be a little slow, kind of awkward, a little messy, but that is what is necessary,” he declared.

Obama mentioned the crisis in the Middle East. “Today we see a revolution that began in Tunisia, based on the desire for human dignity. We see men and women acquiring the right to determine their own future.”

Showing some knowledge of Brazilian political history, Obama said Brasil has achieved a transformation, changing a country that lived under a dictatorship into a thriving democracy. The president of the US went on to say that he and his country recognized that achievement and were cheering Brazil on.

Obama stated that differences of opinion were natural and not an obstacle to partnerships.

In one of the most applauded moments of the speech, Obama said that Brazil has always been known as the country of the future. But that now that future is here and there will be no more waiting. Obama said there were domestic and foreign pressures that blocked Brazil’s progress.

“Brazil showed us how a dictatorship could be turned into a thriving democracy. It is a country that had a movement for freedom start on the streets and that transformed Brazil and the world,” he said, in a reference to the military regime and the protests against it in 1968 in Rio.

Obama said the moment for the international community to recognize Brazil had arrived. “The future is here. It has arrived in Brazil. It is time to seize the future.” He went on to conclude: “The future of a people is to be determined by the people. We have no need to fear change.”

Speaking for just over 15 minutes, without notes, Obama cited the Brazilian writer, Paulo Coelho: “With the power of our will and love, we can make change.”

There was an attempt by a political party, the Unified Socialist Worker Party (“Partido Socialista dos Trabalhadores Unificado – PSTU-RJ”) and another group, the National Struggle (“Coordenação Nacional de Lutas – Conlutas”), to stage a protest in front of the Municipal Theater. The attempt was nipped in the bud far from the theater by what a spokesperson for the protesters called “an enormous repression machine” (“grande aparato repressivo”). In fact, there were hundreds of uniformed soldiers surrounding the theater, protecting it, long before the speech began and during the speech.