Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched a rebuilding program on Monday to improve conditions in Brazil's sprawling slums, known as favelas.

"The Brazilian society is finally seeing the government meet a social demand (for housing) that had dragged on for years in this country," Lula said.

Speaking on his radio show "Coffee with the President" which airs once every 14 days, Lula said Brazil has allocated 1 billion reais (472 million U.S. dollars) to rebuild the slums close to rivers, mangrove swamps or the sea.

Lula, a former union leader, came to power with promises to help the poor, but many among them remain unconvinced.

On Monday, militants of the Landless Rural Workers Movement occupied three new farms in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.

"Lula did not carry the land reform he promised," Edilson Barbosa, an activist from the movement, told local media.

He said that the government has resettled only 1,500 families in the state instead of the 8,000 families it promised to resettle.

Opposition says that Lula is spending more on improving his chances in presidential elections planned for October, because his popularity ratings were badly hit after recent corruption scandals.

Officials from Lula's ruling Workers Party said that Lula is merely showcasing existing public projects that help the poor.

Source: Xinhua