Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva has been elected as Brazil's next president, following a close run-off election last Sunday. Lula’s victory marks a political reversal for Latin America's largest country after four years of far-right rule.
This will be Lula’s third term as President of Brazil, having previously served two consecutive terms between 2003 and 2010. In this election, Lula da Silva received the most votes in Brazilian history, breaking his own record set in 2006.
Despite his supporters' large turnout, his victory was narrow - Lula da Silva received 50.90% of the vote, while Bolsonaro received 49.10%, according to Brazil's electoral authority.
The 76-year-old leftist’s victory represents the return of the left to power in Brazil, and it caps a triumphant personal comeback for Lula da Silva, who was imprisoned for 580 days following a series of corruption allegations. The Supreme Court later overturned the sentences, allowing him to run for reelection.
"They tried to bury me alive, and I'm here," he declared in a jubilant speech to supporters and journalists on Sunday evening, referring to his victory as his political "resurrection."
“Starting on January 1, 2023, I will govern for the 215 million Brazilians, not just the ones who voted for me. There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation,” Lula da Silva also said.
Lula da Silva is one of Latin America's most powerful and enduring politicians, a silver-tongued statesman dubbed "the most popular president on Earth" by Barack Obama for lifting the poor of Brazil out of poverty and accomplishing much in his country during his two terms as president from 2003 to 2010. He is regarded as one of the people since he belongs to the working class.
Lula was born in Pernambuco and moved to So Paulo with his family as a child. He started out as a metalworker and trade unionist. During Brazil's military dictatorship, he led major workers' strikes between 1978 and 1980, and he helped found the Workers' Party in 1980, during the country's political opening.
Lula was a key figure in the Diretas Já movement, which advocated for democratic elections. He was elected as the most popular federal deputy in the state of So Paulo in 1986.
He ran for president for the first time in 1989, but was defeated in the second round by Fernando Collor de Mello. He ran for president again in 1994 and 1998, both times losing in the first round to Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Lula defeated José Serra in the second round of the 2002 presidential election. In 2006, he was re-elected, defeating Geraldo Alckmin in the second round.
Lula remained active in politics after his term as president, and he began giving lectures in Brazil and abroad. He was appointed as Rousseff's Chief of Staff in 2016, but the Supreme Court suspended his appointment.
In a contentious trial in July 2017, Lula was found guilty of money laundering and corruption and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. Sergio Moro, the case's federal judge, later became Minister of Justice and Public Security in Jair Bolsonaro's government.
Lula was arrested in April 2018 after an unsuccessful appeal and spent 580 days in jail. Lula attempted to run for president in 2018, but was disqualified by Brazil's "Clean Slate" law. The Supreme Federal Court ruled in November 2019 that incarcerations with pending appeals were illegal, and Lula was released as a result.
During the campaign and after the election, Lula prioritized social programs. From the beginning, his leading program was to eradicate hunger, building on projects already implemented by the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration and expanded by the new Fome Zero ("Zero Hunger") program.
The program combined a number of programs aimed at ending hunger in Brazil, including the construction of water cisterns in Brazil's semi-arid Serto region, the prevention of teenage pregnancy, the strengthening of family agriculture, the distribution of a minimum amount of cash to the poor, and many other measures.
Lula also launched a housing assistance program that was far more comprehensive than previous policies. More than 15 billion euros were invested in water purification and favela urbanization, with more than 40 billion invested in housing.
As a first priority, the government proposes relocating poor populations who live in "risk zones" prone to flooding or landslides, followed by expanding the electricity network, launching work to relocate streets, and improving precarious housing.
Bolsa Famlia (Family Allowance), based on the previous Bolsa Escola (School Allowance), which was conditional on school attendance, was the largest assistance program, first introduced in the city of Campinas by then mayor José Roberto Magalhes Teixeira.
Other municipalities and states quickly adopted similar programs. In 2001, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso federalized the program. Lula created Bolsa Famlia in 2003 by combining Bolsa Escola with additional allowances for food and kitchen gas. This was preceded by the establishment of a new ministry, the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Eradication.
Lula has had three marriages. He married Maria de Lourdes in 1969, who died of hepatitis in 1971 while she was pregnant with their first son, who also died. In 1974 he married the widow Marisa Letcia Rocco Casa and they had three sons.
Lula will take over in a country riven by extreme inequality and still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Between 2019 and 2021, approximately 9.6 million people fell into poverty, and literacy and school attendance rates have declined.
Meanwhile, environmentalists will be keeping a close eye on Lula da Silva's administration as it takes over not only the Brazilian nation but also the world's largest forest reserves. With deforestation in the vast Amazon rainforest at an all-time high under Bolsonaro's presidency, Lula da Silva repeatedly stated during his campaign that he would work to reduce deforestation. He has argued that conserving the forest could generate some revenue, citing the beauty and pharmaceutical industries as potential beneficiaries of biodiversity.
