Lula in five images, a political history of half a century

by time news

IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES – Favorite in the latest polls for the presidential election in Brazil, the 76-year-old marked the largest country in Latin America, of which he was already the president, from 2002 to 2011.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, leader of the left, is the big favorite in the presidential election in Brazil, the results of which will fall this Sunday, October 2. According to a poll published on Saturday, he could obtain 50% of the valid votes, while his competitor, President Jair Bolsonaro, would only reach 36%. After a childhood in poverty, two presidential terms and a prison sentence for corruption, the 76-year-old man has shown resilience during his life. In any case, it marked the largest country in Latin America for more than half a century. A look back at the great moments of his life, in pictures.

In 1980, he founded the Workers’ Party

In 1945, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was born in great poverty into a family of farmers in Pernambuco, the poorest state in Brazil. As a teenager, he began studying metallurgy, the path in which he would begin his career. At 21, he led his first strikes, in the midst of a military dictatorship.

At the age of 30, he became president of the powerful metallurgy union and led mobilizations that brought together 170,000 workers in the suburbs of São Paulo. Five years later, in 1980, he founded the Workers’ Party (PT) associated with other trade unionists, figures of the Catholic left and intellectuals.

This file photo from March 22, 1979 shows Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being lifted by fellow metalworkers after a union rally in Sao Bernardo do Campo, 55 km from São Paulo. CLAUDINEI PETROLI / AESTADO / FILES / AFP

In this file photo from March 22, 1979, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 34, is lifted by fellow metalworkers after a union rally in Sao Bernardo do Campo, 55 km from São Paulo.

In 1989, he became a candidate for the presidential election

In 1989, the first democratic elections for 30 years took place. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is his first presidential candidate.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on November 15, 1989. AFP CLAUDIO ROSSI

In this archive photo from November 15, 1989, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves his ballot just before dropping it into the ballot box in Rio de Janeiro. At that time, it stood at 14% in opinion polls.

He finally lost to Fernando Collor de Mello. He will then represent 1994 and 1998, and will once again experience the same fate.

On October 27, 2002, Lula became President of Brazil.

Unlucky candidate, he stood for the presidential election of 2002, which he won hands down, obtaining more than 60% in the second round.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on October 28, 2002. ANTONIO SCORZA / AFP

In this October 28, 2002 file photo, newly elected Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife Marisa wave to supporters, after receiving notification of his victory, in São Paulo.

In 2008, he sought a second term. When he gave way to his heiress Dilma Rousseff in 2011, nearly nine out of ten Brazilians had a favorable opinion of him. During his tenure, 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty; an increase in the middle class of 37% of the population has been observed; 14 million jobs have been created; all this with a growth of 6%.

On July 12, 2017, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

He is quickly caught up in the context of a gigantic investigation, “Lava Jato(“Express Washing”), carried out by the Federal Police of Brazil, involving the state oil company Petrobras. On July 12, 2017, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, which will be increased to twelve years on appeal. He is found guilty of passive corruption and money laundering. On April 7, 2018, he was taken prisoner following an arrest warrant, and the following year, he was convicted again in a property renovation case.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva brandished in Sao Bernardo do Campo on Saturday November 9. AMANDA PEROBELLI/REUTERS

After 580 days in prison, he is released. The day after his release, on November 9, 2019, he is seen in this archive photo waving the Brazilian flag in the midst of sympathizers, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, in the suburbs of São Paulo.

This conviction was finally overturned by the Supreme Court of Brazil in 2021 after the revelation in 2019 of discussion by Sergio Moro, judge in charge of the case, who demonstrated that he had no tangible evidence against the former president of the Brazil.

2022, Lula big favorite for the presidential election in Brazil

Lula is making a comeback in the context of a Brazil harassed by the presidency of Bolsonaro. Today, the majority of Brazilians expect their president to fight against hunger from which 30 million of them suffer, inflation and unemployment which have reinforced precariousness and corruption.

Lula, who had lifted 30 million Brazilians out of poverty, promised meat for everyone and “democracy against fascism“. But, for many, it embodies irremediably corruption. Bolsonaro defends traditional values ​​- God, homeland, family. But his management deemed catastrophic of the Covid-19 (685,000 dead) could cost him dearly, as well as the crises that marked his mandate.

Thousands of supporters alongside Lula on Saturday October 1, on the eve of the first presidential round. MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL/AFP

Saturday, October 1, in São Paulo, thousands of demonstrators marched alongside him. Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro could be ousted from power, with polls pointing to a victory for Lula.

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