Brasilia, Feb 5 (IANS/EFE) The Brazilian Congress has proclaimed food security as a new constitutional right of all citizens, along with health, housing, work, social security, and child protection.
The inclusion of food among Brazilians' basic rights was approved in a legislative session Thursday in which Senate President Jose Sarney said that the country "now has the satisfaction of having a constitution with the world's best social-rights provisions".
Separately, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he intends to send Congress a bill this year proposing that the far-reaching social programmes his government has implemented since 2003 be adopted as law.
According to the centre-left president, his goal is to ensure the preservation of social "conquests" made during his time in office, which will conclude Jan 1, 2011, when he hands over power to the winner of the Oct 3 presidential election.