Marina Silva
56-year-old Marina Silva, a devout Evangelical Christian is now a strong candidate to become Brazil’s first black president. However, her story of coming out of the Amazon illiterate when she was a teenager has been drawing a great deal of attention from both Christians and non-believers.
Last Tuesday, a poll cited from Wall Street Journal showed that Silva had defeated Dilma Rouseff, the former president of Brazil with 45 percent to 36 percent in a runoff. Many experts have expressed that this was the perfect timing for Silva to run for office considering Brazil, the world’s fifth largest nation is majority non-white voters, and many have been impressed and energized by her candidacy after some disappointing politicians.
The Global and Mail explained in detail about Marina Silva’s life story and how she had managed to reach her current positions. Marina Silva had grown up in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest. She was one of 11 children of an average rubber trapper. Silva had several near death experiences as a child, having experiences with hepatitis and malaria. However, she managed her way into the city where she was rescued by Catholic clerics who not only taught her to read and write but also liberation theology.
After completing her education, Silva moved on to become a school teacher and a popular environmental activist. With the popularity and publicity she gained she moved on to politics and became the youngest person to have been elected into Brazil’s parliament. At the time, Silva was only 36.
Silva started her relationship with Christ after going through yet another near death experience. This time she was diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning, but in the process of overcoming her illness she met Christ and became an Evangelical Christian.
Later, Silva ran for presidency several times. After suffering a number of losses in national votes, Silva planned to run for election again in October through her Sustainability Network but it failed to qualify as a political party. Silva insisted that there could be some foul play involved in the process but refused to give up. Instead, she offered to run for vice president for another politician called Eduardo Campos.
Two weeks ago however, Campos died in a plane crash and Silva became the leader of the Brazilian Socialist Party and is now favorites to win the presidential election.
