Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva
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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th
president of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...
since 2023. A member of the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
, Lula was also the 35th president from 2003 to 2011. Born in
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
, Lula quit school after second grade to work, and did not learn to read until he was ten years old. As a teenager, he worked as a metalworker and became a
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ist. Between 1978 and 1980, he led the ABC workers' strikes during Brazil's
military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...
, and in 1980, he helped start the Workers' Party during Brazil's redemocratization. Lula was one of the leaders of the 1984 ''Diretas Já'' movement, which demanded direct elections. In 1986, he was elected a federal deputy in the state of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
. He ran for president in
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
, but lost in the second round. He went on to also lose two other presidential elections, both in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, and then in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
. He finally became president in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, in a runoff. In
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, he was successfully re-elected in the second round. Described as left-wing, his
first presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
coincided with South America's first
pink tide The pink tide (; ; ), or the turn to the left (; ; ), is a political wave and turn towards left-wing governments in Latin America throughout the 21st century. As a term, both phrases are used in political analysis in the news media and elsewhe ...
. During his first two consecutive terms in office, he continued fiscal policies and promoted social welfare programs such as Bolsa Família that eventually led to GDP growth, reduction in external debt and inflation, and helping millions of Brazilians escape poverty. He also played a role in foreign policy, both on a regional level and as part of global trade and environment negotiations. During those terms, Lula was considered one of the most popular politicians in Brazil's history and left office with 80% approval rating. His first term was also marked by notable corruption scandals, including the Mensalão vote-buying scandal. After the 2010 Brazilian general election, he was succeeded by his former chief of staff,
Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...
, and remained active in politics and gave lectures. In July 2017, Lula was convicted on charges of
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
and corruption in the
Operation Car Wash Operation Car Wash (, ) was a landmark anti-corruption probe in Brazil.Kurtenbach, S., & Nolte, D. (2017). Latin America's Fight against Corruption: The End of Impunity. GIGA Focus Lateinamerika, (03). Beginning in March 2014 as the investiga ...
context, after which he spent a total of 580 days in prison. He attempted to run in the 2018 Brazilian presidential election, but was disqualified under Brazil's '' Ficha Limpa'' law. He was convicted again in February 2019, and was released from prison the following November. His two convictions were nullified in 2021 by the Supreme Federal Court, in a ruling which also found serious biases in the first case against him, also annulling all other pending cases. Once legally allowed to make another run for the presidency, Lula did so in the 2022 election and ultimately defeated the incumbent
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
in a runoff. Sworn in on 1 January 2023 at the age of 77, he became the oldest Brazilian president at time of inauguration, as well as the first-ever Brazilian individual to have defeated an incumbent president and to be elected to a third term.


Early life

Luiz Inácio da Silva was born on 27 October 1945 (registered with a date of birth of 6 October 1945) in Caetés (then a district of
Garanhuns Garanhuns is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality in the Agreste region of the States of Brazil, state of Pernambuco, located 230 kilometers from the state capital, Recife. It covers an area of km² and belongs to the Caruaru Inter ...
), from
Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
, capital of
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
, a state in the Northeast of Brazil. He was the seventh of eight children of Aristides Inácio da Silva and Eurídice Ferreira de Melo, farmers who had experienced famine in one of the poorest parts of the agreste. He was raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Lula's mother was of Portuguese and partial
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
descent. Two weeks after Lula's birth, his father moved to
Santos, São Paulo Santos (, ''Saints''), officially Municipality of Estância Balneária de Santos, is a city and Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, founded in 1546 by the Portuguese n ...
, with – though Eurídice was not aware of it – her younger cousin Valdomira Ferreira de Góis. In December 1952, when Lula was seven years old, his mother moved the family to
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
to rejoin her husband. After a journey of 13 days in a (open truck bed), they arrived in Guarujá and discovered that Aristides had formed a second family with Valdomira, with whom he had 10 more children. Aristides's two families lived in the same house for some time, but they did not get along very well, and four years later, his mother moved with him and his siblings to a small room behind a bar in São Paulo. After that, Lula rarely saw his father, who died illiterate and an alcoholic in 1978. In 1982, he added the nickname Lula to his legal name.


Personal life

Twice a widower, Lula has been married three times, and has a daughter from a fourth relationship. In 1969, he married Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro. She died of hepatitis in 1971 while pregnant with a child, who also died. In March 1974, Lula had an illegitimate daughter, Lurian, with his then-girlfriend, Miriam Cordeiro. The two never married. Lula only began participating in his daughter's life when she was already a young adult. Two months later, in May 1974, Lula married Marisa Letícia Rocco Casa, a 24-year-old widow whom he had met the prior year. He had three sons with her, and adopted her son from her first marriage. The two remained married for 43 years, until her death on 2 February 2017, after a stroke. Later that same year, he met and started a relationship with Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja. The relationship only became public in 2019 while he was serving time in jail in
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...
, Paraná, on corruption charges. Lula and Janja married on 18 May 2022. Lula is
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.


Education and work

Lula had little formal education. He did not learn to read until he was ten years old. He quit school after the second grade to work. His first job at age eight was as a street vendor. When he was 12, he also worked as a shoeshiner. In 1960, when he was 14, he got his first formal job, in a warehouse. In 1961, he started working as an apprentice of a press operator in a metallurgical company that produced screws, while studying in a vocational course. There, Lula had his first contact with strike movements. After the movement failed in its negotiations, Lula left the company for another metallurgical company. From 1966 to 1980, he worked at , a new metalworking firm. There, in 1974, he lost his left pinky finger in a machinery accident, while working as a press operator in the factory. After the accident, he had to run to several hospitals before he received medical attention. This experience increased his interest in participating in the Workers' Union. Around that time, he became involved in union activities and held several union posts.


Union career

Inspired by his brother Frei Chico, a member of the Brazilian Communist Party, Lula joined the
labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
when he worked at Villares Metals, rising through the ranks. He was elected in 1975, and re-elected in 1978, as president of the Steel Workers' Union of
São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 810,729 (2022 census) in an area of . According to 2021 data from ...
and Diadema. Both cities are located in the ABCD Region, home to most of Brazil's automobile manufacturing facilities, including Ford,
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
, and
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
. In the late 1970s, when Brazil was under military rule, Lula helped organize union activities, including major strikes. Labour courts found the strikes illegal, and in 1980, Lula was jailed for a month. Due to this, and like other people imprisoned for political activities under the military government, Lula was awarded a lifetime pension after the fall of the military regime.


Political career

On 10 February 1980, a group of academics and union leaders, including Lula, founded the '' Partido dos Trabalhadores'' (PT) or Workers' Party, a left-wing party with progressive ideas. In 1983, he helped found the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) trade union association.


Elections

Lula first ran for office in 1982 for the state government of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, but lost with 11% of the vote. Cuban president
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
urged him to continue on as a politician, during a trip by Lula to Cuba. In the 1986 election, Lula won a seat in the National Congress with the most votes nationwide. In 1989, Lula ran for president as the PT candidate. Lula advocated immediate land reform and that Brazil default on its
external debt A country's gross external debt (or foreign debt) is the liabilities that are owed to nonresidents by residents. The debtors can be government, governments, corporation, corporations or citizens. External debt may be denominated in domestic or f ...
. A minor candidate,
Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...
, quickly amassed support with a more business-friendly agenda and by taking emphatic anti-corruption positions. He beat Lula in the second round of the 1989 elections. Lula decided not to run for re-election as a Congressman in 1990. Lula ran again for president, and lost again, in the next two Brazilian elections. Former PSDB Minister of Finance
Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor, and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 1 January 2003. He was the first Brazi ...
defeated Lula who received only 27% of the vote in the presidential elections in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, and again, by a somewhat smaller margin, as Lula garnered only 32% of the vote in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
. An article in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' said that before 2002, Lula had been a "strident
union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing ...
known for his bushy beard and
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T-shirts". In the 2002 campaign, Lula abandoned both his informal clothing style and his platform plank that Brazil should not pay its foreign debt unless it links the payment to a prior thorough audit. This last point had worried economists, businessmen, and banks, who feared that even a partial Brazilian default would have a massive ripple effect through the world economy. Lula in the 2002 election, defeated PSDB candidate
José Serra José Serra Chirico (; born 19 March 1942) is a Brazilian politician who has served as a Congressman, Senator, Minister of Planning, Minister of Health, Mayor of São Paulo, Governor of São Paulo state, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brazil) ...
in a runoff, to become the country's first
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
president following the fall of the
military dictatorship in Brazil The military dictatorship in Brazil (), occasionally referred to as the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established on 1 April 1964, after a 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United Stat ...
. In the 2006 election, Lula won a run-off over the PSDB's
Geraldo Alckmin Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho (; born 7 November 1952) is a Brazilian physician and politician currently serving as 26th vice president of Brazil. He previously was the List of governors of São Paulo, Governor of São Paulo (state), S ...
. In September 2018, Brazil's top electoral court banned Lula from running for president in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
due to his corruption conviction, in accordance with Brazil's '' Lei da Ficha Limpa'' law. Instead, Fernando Haddad ran for president on the Workers Party ticket, and was defeated by
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
.


First presidency (2003–2011)

Lula, described as left-wing, served two terms as president from 2003 through 2010. During his farewell speech, he said he felt a burden to prove that he could handle the presidency despite his humble beginnings. "If I failed, it would be the workers' class which would be failing; it would be this country's poor who would be proving they did not have what it takes to rule".


Political orientation

Very few of the reforms that Lula proposed were actually implemented during Lula's terms of office. Some wings of the Worker's Party disagreed with the increasing moderation in focus since the late eighties, and left the party to form other parties, such as during Lula's presidency, the
Socialism and Liberty Party The Socialism and Liberty Party (, ; PSOL ) is a left-wing political party in Brazil. The party describes itself as socialist and democratic. The party leader is Paula Coradi and the federal deputies Ivan Valente, Talíria Petrone, Sâmi ...
. Alliances with old, traditional oligarch politicians, like former presidents José Sarney and Fernando Collor, have been a cause of disappointment for some.


Education

A number of educational initiatives were launched during Lula's first presidency. A free school meals programme was extended to 37 million pupils while a programme was launched which aimed to provide "whole or partial remission of student fees for low-income students". In 2006, primary education was extended from 8 to 9 years. A Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education was set up to improve the quality of education. The PED (an education development plan) conditioned the disbursement of public funds to state schools on the schools' performance. Still in 2006, many Brazilians and commentators felt that Lula had not done enough to improve the quality of public education. And in 2010, while education was compulsory for all children in Brazil aged 7 to 14, in practice that requirement was only loosely enforced; 90% of children in rural areas attended school for less than four years, and only 25% of children living in favelas attended school.


Social programs

Lula's top social programme sought to eradicate hunger. It was financed by an increase in tax revenues, coupled with a decrease in government expenditures on both wages and on benefits paid to public employees, as well as a decrease in government expenditures on infrastructure. The programme followed the lead of a project that had already been put into practice in 1995 by the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, which was named '' Bolsa Escola'' (School Stipend). It expanded that initiative with the new '' Fome Zero'' ("Zero Hunger") programme, which was part of the '' Bolsa Família'' (Family Allowance) plan. Five months after Lula took office, however, the budget for ''Fome Zero'' was cut down a third from its original amount, and one year later, about $800 million was budgeted toward the programme, but only $130 million of that was actually disbursed. Lula's programme was accused of having become more bark than bite, inasmuch as of May 2005, two years after the effort began, the programme had fallen far short of expectations. During Lula's first term, child malnutrition in Brazil decreased by 46%. In May 2010, the UN
World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...
(WFP) awarded Lula the title of "World Champion in the Fight against Hunger". A number of other social projects were introduced during Lula's first presidency. Lula launched a housing aid programme that was larger in scope to the policies developed until then. More than 15 billion euros were invested in water purification and the urbanization of
favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...
s, and more than 40 billion in housing. The government proposed to relocate the poor populations that occupied the "risk zones", prone to floods or landslides; at the end of the day, however, at least 212 people died and at least 15,000 people were made homeless by the April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides alone. It proposed to then extend the electricity network, to relocate the streets and to improve the precarious housing. The government undertook to democratize access to real estate credit.


Economy

Lula's first two terms coincided with a strong boom in commodities prices. This fueled an economic boom in Brazil, which in turn allowed Lula to spend heavily on social programmes and pay off a $15 billion IMF loan a year early. In the run-up to the 2002 elections, the fear of Lula taking drastic measures, and comparisons of him with
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, increased internal market speculation. This led to a drop in the value of the
Brazilian real The Brazilian real (plural, pl. '; currency symbol, sign: R$; ISO 4217, code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real repl ...
, and a downgrade of Brazil's
credit rating A credit rating is an evaluation of the credit risk of a prospective debtor (an individual, a business, company or a government). It is the practice of predicting or forecasting the ability of a supposed debtor to pay back the debt or default. The ...
. Lula chose Henrique Meirelles of the
Brazilian Social Democracy Party The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Brazil. As the formerly third largest p ...
(PSDB), a market-oriented economist, as head of the Brazilian Central Bank. As a former CEO of BankBoston he was well known to the market. Lula and his cabinet followed, to an extent, the lead of the previous government in economics. It renewed all agreements with the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
(IMF), which were signed by the time Argentina defaulted on its own deals in 2001. His government achieved a satisfactory primary budget surplus in the first two years, as required by the IMF agreement, exceeding the target for the third year. In late 2005, the government paid off its debt to the IMF in full, two years ahead of schedule. The Brazilian economy was generally not affected by the 2005
Mensalão scandal The Mensalão scandal (, ) was a major parliamentary alleged vote-buying scandal by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration that threatened to bring down his government in 2005. ''Mensalão'' is a neologism, an augmentative variant of the w ...
, which related to vote buying in the Brazilian Congress. In June 2005, economist and attorney José Dirceu, Lula's chief-of-staff since 2003, resigned after he was caught up in a massive corruption scheme in the legislature, the Mensalão corruption scandal. In March 2006, Lula's finance minister
Antonio Palocci Antonio Palocci Filho (born 4 October 1960) is a Brazilian physician and politician, and formerly Chief of Staff of Brazil under President Dilma Rousseff. He was the finance minister of the Brazilian federal government from 1 January 2003 to ...
, who had continued the anti-inflation and pro-market policies of the previous centrist government, resigned due to his involvement in a corruption and
abuse of power Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of "malfeasance in office" or "official abuse of power", is the commission of an Crime, unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasan ...
scandal. Lula then appointed
Guido Mantega Guido Mantega (; born 7 April 1949) is an Italian-born Brazilian economist and politician. Mantega served as Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2015 under the presidencies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. His tenure as Ministe ...
, a PT economist, as finance minister. Not long after the start of his second term, in 2007 Lula's government announced the Growth Acceleration Programme (', PAC), an investment programme which sought to solve many of the problems that prevented the Brazilian economy from expanding more rapidly. The measures included investment in the creation and repair of roads and railways, simplification and reduction of taxation, and modernization of the country's energy production to avoid further shortages. The money pledged to be spent on this programme was to be around R$ 500 billion (US $ billion) over four years. However, by 2010 many projects remained mired in bureaucracy, and only 11% of the projects outlined in the plan had been completed, while just over half had not even been launched. Prior to taking office, Lula had been a critic of
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
. His administration created public-private partnership concessions for seven federal roadways. After decades with the largest foreign debt among
emerging economies An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or we ...
, Brazil became a net creditor for the first time in January 2008. By mid-2008, both
Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...
and
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had elevated the classification of Brazilian debt from speculative to investment grade. Banks made record profits under Lula's government. The
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
might have been a tsunami in the US and Europe, Lula declared, but in Brazil it would be no more than a little 'ripple' (""). The phrase was seized on by the Brazilian press as proof of Lula's reckless economic ignorance and irresponsibility. In 2008, Brazil enjoyed economic good health to mitigate the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
with a large
economic stimulus In economics, stimulus refers to attempts to use monetary policy or fiscal policy (or stabilization policy in general) to stimulate the economy. Stimulus can also refer to monetary policies such as lowering interest rates and quantitative e ...
lasting, at least, until 2014. According to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'': "Under Lula, Brazil became the world's eighth-largest economy, ndmore than 20 million people rose out of acute poverty ..." At the same time, in 2010 ''The Wall Street Journal'' noted that: " razil's
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...
is bloated and riddled with corruption. Crime is rampant. Its infrastructure is badly in need of repair and expansion. The business environment is restrictive, with a labour code ripped from the pages of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's economic playbook. Brazil also risks patting itself on the back so much that it fails to see the colossal work that remains to be done."


Environment

Initially, Lula's administration pushed for progressive policies that significantly curbed deforestation in the Amazon. Despite this, he did not support legislation that would have required the country to phase out its fossil fuels. In May 2008, environmental minister
Marina Silva Maria Osmarina Marina da Silva Vaz de Lima (born Maria Osmarina da Silva; 8 February 1958), known as Marina Silva, is a Brazilian politician and environmentalist, currently serving as Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, a position ...
resigned, blamed "stagnation" in the government, after she lost disagreements with Lula when she opposed approval of new
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
s in the Amazon and criticized Lula's
biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic ...
programme. Dr. Daniel Nepstad of the Woods Hole Research Centre said the growing demand for biofuels may ultimately result in more Amazon deforestation. In particular, environmentalists warn that while biofuels reduce emissions of
greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...
es, they may well also trigger a significant expansion of the biofuel crops; that, in turn, may push agriculture deeper into forests, destroying habitat and
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
. The creation of conservation areas and indigenous reserves led to a decrease of around 75% in deforestation starting in 2004. In Lula's first year in office, in 2003–04, 25,000 square kilometers of Brazilian forest were destroyed, the second-worst devastation since 1977. In late 2006, the Instituto Soicioambiental environmental group said that deforestation in Lula's first four years had been worse than in any four-year period since 1988. By 2009, Brazil's Amazon destruction—though lower—was still about 7,000 square kilometers a year, larger than the US state of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
. Critics said, however, that Brazil's lowest rate of deforestation in 2009 was a function of the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. Paulo Adario of
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
said that it was a function not of efforts to protect the climate, but of the fact that the "demand for beef, soya and wood ha dramatically fallen". In 2009, Lula gave a speech in which he said that "gringos" should pay Amazon nations to prevent deforestation. In February 2010, Lula's government approved the construction of a controversial hydroelectric mega
Belo Monte Dam The Belo Monte Dam (''formerly known as'' Kararaô) is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, in November 2019, the in ...
in the middle of the Amazon rain forest in the Brazilian state of
Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
. It was to be the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Environmental activists protested the building of the dam. It was expected to cause a significant decline in the
water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...
, resulting in significant losses of aquatic and terrestrial
fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
, and adversely impact
aquatic mammal Aquatic mammals and semiaquatic mammals are a diverse group of mammals that dwell partly or entirely in body of water, bodies of water. They include the various ''marine mammals'' who dwell in oceans, as well as various freshwater species, such a ...
s. Approximately 20,000-40,000 indigenous people were to be resettled with little or no compensation, and 516 square kilometers (199 square miles) of rain forest were to be flooded for the dam's construction.


Foreign policy

In 1979, Lula was asked in an interview which historical figures he admired most. He answered:
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
,
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
, and
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
. Upon being asked to give additional examples, he added Fidel Castro saying: "I admire in a man the fire to want to do something, and then his going out to try to do it." Leading a large agricultural state, Lula generally opposed and criticized farm subsidies, and this position has been seen as one of the reasons for the walkout of developing nations and subsequent collapse of the Cancún
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
talks in 2003 over G8 agricultural subsidies. Brazil played a role in negotiations regarding internal conflicts in Venezuela and
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, and made efforts to strengthen
Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...
. During the Lula administration, Brazilian foreign trade increased dramatically, changing from deficits to several surpluses after 2003. In 2004, the surplus was US$29 billion, due to a substantial increase in global demand for commodities. Brazil also provided UN peacekeeping troops and led a peacekeeping mission in
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. According to ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' of 2 March 2006, Lula had a pragmatic foreign policy, seeing himself as a negotiator, not an ideologue, a leader adept at reconciling opposites. As a result, he befriended both Venezuelan president
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
and U.S. President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. Former
Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
, and current advisor, Delfim Netto, said: "Lula is the ultimate pragmatist". He travelled to more than 80 countries during his presidency. A goal of Lula's foreign policy was for the country to gain a seat as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. In this he was unsuccessful.


China

From 2003 to 2010, Lula embraced China as central to reforming what he considered an unjust global order. He intertwined the Chinese and Brazilian economies. Lula stated Brazil's commitment to the One China principle that is the position held by the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and the ruling
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
, saying that the government of the People's Republic of China was the sole legal government representing the whole of China, including
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
—as part of China.


Cuba

Lula and Cuban president
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
were longtime friends. Under Lula, Brazil provided money and corporate support to Cuba. The state-controlled Brazilian oil company
Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
studied the possibility of drilling for oil off of Cuba, while the
Odebrecht Odebrecht S.A. (), officially known as Novonor, is a Brazilian conglomerate, headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company w ...
construction firm headed a revamp of the Cuban port of Mariel into the island's main commercial port. Brazil's state-run Brazilian Development Bank gave $300 million to Odebrecht to build new roads, rail lines, wharves, and warehouses at Mariel. Brazil also offered Cuba up to $1 billion in credit lines to pay for Brazilian goods and services.


Iran

The conviction by an Iranian court of Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for the crime of adultery, with a sentence in 2006 of execution by stoning, led to calls for Lula to intercede on her behalf. In July 2010, Lula said "I need to respect the laws of a oreigncountry. If my friendship with the president of Iran and the respect that I have for him is worth something, if this woman has become a nuisance, we will receive her in Brazil". The Iranian government declined his offer. Mina Ahadi, an Iranian Communist politician, welcomed Lula's offer, but reiterated a call for an end to stoning altogether and requested a cessation of recognition and support for the Iranian government. Jackson Diehl, deputy editorial page editor of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', called Lula the "best friend of tyrants in the democratic world," and criticised his actions. Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate called Lula's comments a "powerful message to the Islamic Republic". In 2009, Lula warmly hosted Iranian president Ahmadinejad, who made a controversial visit to Brazil. Some demonstrators expressed displeasure over Ahmadinejad's positions on human rights and his denial of
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. In May 2010, Lula and Turkey's prime minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
negotiated a preliminary fuel swap agreement with the Iranian government on
uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (23 ...
, that ultimately failed. The preliminary agreement that they presented to the United Nations was at odds with what the
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...
and other countries viewed as necessary actions to stop Iran from obtaining weapons grade materials. Within hours of signing the agreement, Iran did an about-face and announced that it would continue to enrich some uranium. U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
said Brazil was being "used" by Tehran. The
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
ultimately rejected it when permanent member country representatives argued that "the swap proposal negotiated by Brazil and Turkey would leave Iran with enough material to make a nuclear weapon," and that "Iran intends to continue a new programme of enriching uranium to a higher level."
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winning journalist
Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman ( ; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global ...
wrote: "Is there anything uglier than watching democrats sell out other democrats to a Holocaust-denying, vote-stealing Iranian thug just to tweak the U.S. and show that they, too, can play at the big power table?" Moisés Naím, editor in chief of ''
Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'' magazine and former Minister of Trade in Venezuela, said "Lula is a political giant, but morally he has been a deep disappointment." In 2010, in addition, Brazilians largely disagreed with Lula as to how to handle Iran and Iran's nuclear weapons programme. While Lula opposed additional international economic sanctions against Iran, of the 85% of Brazilians who opposed Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, two-thirds approved of tighter international sanctions on Iran to try to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.


Iraq

In 2003, Lula condemned the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, saying that the United States had no right "to decide unilaterally what is good and what is bad for the world". He said that "the behaviour of the United States in relation to Iraq has weakened the United Nations".


Libya

Brazil, as a non-permanent member of the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, abstained from the vote authorising "all necessary measures" against Libya's
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
. It opposed the bombing in Libya to implement
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 Resolution 1973 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 17 March 2011 in response to the First Libyan Civil War. The resolution formed the legal basis for military intervention in the Libyan Civil War, demanding "an immediate ce ...
. Lula said: "These invasions only happen because the United Nations is weak."


Venezuela

Lula was close with
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
's president
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
, a close ally of Communist Cuba and an antagonist of the United States.Terrence McCoy and Marina Dias (20 May 2023)
"Brazil's Lula promised to save democracy. Why is he embracing Maduro?"
''The Washington Post''.
In November 2007, Lula defended Chávez as the democratic choice of his people. He said: "There is no risk with Chávez." Expressing his admiration for Chávez, he said "Only thanks to Chávez's leadership, the people f Venezuelahave had extraordinary achievements," and that in 2008 that Chávez was "the best president the country has had in 100 years." However, in 2010 Brazilians largely had a different view than Lula, as only 13% had at least some confidence in Chávez, while 70% had little or no confidence in him.


Freedom of the press

After Lula was infuriated by a 9 May 2004, ''New York Times'' article that claimed he had a drinking problem, Brazil ordered the ''New York Times'' reporter, Larry Rohter, to leave the country and revoked his visa because he had written a story "offensive to the honour of the president." Lula said: "Certainly its author ... must be more worried than I am ... it deserves action." Brazil's presidential palace threatened to take legal action against the ''New York Times'', which stood by the story and said that the expulsion raised serious questions about
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
and
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
in Brazil. No journalist had been expelled from Brazil since its military dictatorship ended in the mid-1980s. Brazilian opposition senator Tasso Jereissati said: "This is ridiculous. It's more like the immature act of a dictator of a third-rate republic..." Brazil's second largest union,
Força Sindical The Força Sindical (FS) is a trade union centre in Brazil. It was formed in 1991 by Luis Antônio Medeiros, a leader from the Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores. It opposes the left-wing radicalism of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores in f ...
, issued a statement expressing concern that: "it is a reaction typical of authoritarian governments that don't like contrary voices." Despite criticism, on 13 May 2004, Lula said "he would not consider revoking the action." The government subsequently changed its position, and allowed the reporter to remain. Three months later, Lula introduced legislation to create a Brazil National Journalists' Council that would have the power to "orient, discipline and monitor" journalists and their work. Critics called the draft law the worst affront to press freedom since censorship under the military dictatorship. The government also proposed the establishment of a National Cinema and Audiovisual Agency that would have the power to conduct prior reviews of programming and to veto certain programmes if they believed that they did not to meet standards of "editorial responsibility."


Corruption scandals and controversy

Lula's administration was plagued by numerous corruption scandals, notably the Mensalão $50 million vote-buying scandal and during Lula's first term.


Mensalão vote-buying scandal

In the 2005 Mensalão $50 million vote-buying scandal, Brazilian attorney general Álvaro Augusto Ribeiro Costa presented charges against 40 politicians and officials involved in the Mensalão affair, including several charges against Lula himself. Lula said that he knew nothing about the scandals. Among those convicted were Jose Dirceu (who was Lula's chief of staff and right-hand man from 2003 to 2005; he was sentenced to over 10 years in jail), and both the former head of Lula's Workers Party, Jose Genoino, and its treasurer, Delubio Soares. Dirceu and officials Luiz Gushiken and Humberto Costa said that Lula was not involved. Roberto Jefferson said that if Lula didn't "commit a crime by action, he committed it by omission." But one of Lula's own party members,
Arlindo Chinaglia Arlindo Chinaglia (born 24 December 1949) is a Brazilian politician and former President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil 2007–2009. He represents the state of São Paulo in the National Congress of Brazil for the Workers' Party Worke ...
, alleged that Lula had been warned about the matter, and businessman Marcos Valério, who was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison for his involvement in the scandal, alleged in testimony after he was convicted that Lula had authorized loans for the scheme and used some of the money to pay for his personal expenses.


Politicking

His administration was criticized for relying on local, right-of-centre political barons, like José Sarney, Jader Barbalho, Renan Calheiros and Fernando Collor to ensure a majority in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. Another frequent reproach was his ambiguous treatment of the left wing of the PT. Analysts felt that he would occasionally give in to left-wing calls for tighter government control on media and increased state intervention: in 2004, he pushed for the creation of a "Federal Council of Journalists" (CFJ) and a "National Cinema Agency" (Ancinav), the latter designed to overhaul funding for electronic communications. Both proposals ultimately failed amid concerns over the effect of state control on free speech.


Great Recession caused by white people with blue eyes

Before a G-20 summit in London in March 2009, Lula caused an uproar by declaring that the
economic crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and ma ...
was caused by "the irrational behavior of white people with blue eyes, who before seemed to know everything, and now have shown they don't know anything". He added: "I don't know any black or indigenous bankers." He repeated the accusation the following month.


Terrorist Cesare Battisti

When Italian far-left terrorist Cesare Battisti of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, wanted for four murders, was arrested in Rio de Janeiro in March 2007 by Brazilian and French police officers, Brazilian Minister of Justice Tarso Genro granted him status as a political refugee. It was a controversial decision, which divided Italy and the Brazilian and international press. In February 2009, the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
adopted a resolution in support of Italy, and held a minute's silence in memory of Battisti's victims. In November 2009, the Brazilian Supreme Court declared the grant of refugee status illegal and allowed Battisti's extradition, but also stated that the Brazilian constitution gave the president the personal power to deny the extradition if he chose to, effectively putting the final decision in the hands of Lula. Lula barred Battisti's extradition. On 31 December 2010, Lula's last day in office, his decision not to allow Battisti's extradition was officially announced. Battisti was released on 9 June 2011 from prison, after the Brazilian Constitutional Court denied Italy's request to extradite him. Italy planned to appeal to the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
in the Hague, saying Brazil had breached an extradition treaty. Lula's successor, President Michel Temer, revoked his status as a permanent resident in December and an arrest warrant was issued; Battisti then entered Bolivia illegally, and was arrested and extradited from Bolivia in January 2019.


Operation Zelotes

In 2015, Lula, along with his former chief of staff and five others, was indicted in a corruption probe as part of , regarding payment of R$6 million in bribes (US $ million). Prosecutors alleged they helped pass Provisional Measure 471 (which was later converted into Law 12,218/2010) in 2009 in order to benefit the automotive companies Grupo Caoa and MMC. On 21 June 2021, Judge Frederico Botelho de Barros Viana of the 10th Federal Court of Brasilia acquitted all the accused, saying that the prosecution did not convincingly demonstrate that the defendants were involved in a criminal conspiracy.


Operation Car Wash: corruption investigation and prosecution

In 2014, Brazil began ''Operação Lava Jato'' (English:
Operation Car Wash Operation Car Wash (, ) was a landmark anti-corruption probe in Brazil.Kurtenbach, S., & Nolte, D. (2017). Latin America's Fight against Corruption: The End of Impunity. GIGA Focus Lateinamerika, (03). Beginning in March 2014 as the investiga ...
), resulting in several arrests and convictions, including nine suits against Lula. In April 2015, the Public Ministry of Brazil opened an investigation into allegations of
influence peddling Influence peddling, also called traffic of influence or trading in influence, is the practice of using one's influence in government or connections with authorities to obtain favours or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for ...
by Lula, which alleged that between 2011 and 2014 he had lobbied for government contracts in foreign countries for the
Odebrecht Odebrecht S.A. (), officially known as Novonor, is a Brazilian conglomerate, headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company w ...
company and had also persuaded the Brazilian Development Bank to finance the projects in
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
,
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
,
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, and the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
. In June 2015, Marcelo Odebrecht, president of Odebrecht, was arrested on charges that he had paid politicians $230 million in bribes. Three other company executives were also arrested, as well as the chief executive of
Andrade Gutierrez Andrade Gutierrez is a Brazilian private multinational conglomerate headquartered in Belo Horizonte. The company was founded in 1948, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais by the Andrade and Gutierrez families. As of 2013, Andrade Gutierrez is the se ...
, another construction conglomerate. On 4 March 2016, as part of "Operation Car Wash", Brazilian authorities raided Lula's home. After the raid, the police detained Lula for questioning. A police statement alleged that Lula had collaborated in illegal bribes from the oil company
Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
to benefit his political party and presidential campaign. Prosecutor Carlos Fernando said, "The favours to Lula from big construction companies involved in the fraud at Petrobras were many and hard to quantify". Lula said that he and his party were being politically persecuted. On 16 March 2016, Rousseff appointed Lula as her
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
, a position comparable to that of prime minister. This would have shielded him from arrest due to the immunity that went with the position. Cabinet ministers in Brazil are among close to seven hundred senior government officials enjoying special judicial standing, which means they can only be tried by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court. Supreme Court Judge Gilmar Mendes suspended Lula's appointment on the grounds that Rousseff was trying to help Lula circumvent prosecution. On 28 July 2016, Lula filed a petition with the
United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per yea ...
, a panel of experts, requesting that it provide a view on his accusation that Moro had violated his rights. The Committee ultimately accepted the case. On 14 September 2016, prosecutors filed corruption charges against Lula, accusing him of being the mastermind or 'maximum commander of the scheme'. On 19 September 2016, 13th Circuit ( Paraná) federal judge Sergio Moro, who was leading the corruption probe, accepted an indictment for money laundering against Lula and his wife Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva. On 11 May 2017, Lula answered a summons by appearing in
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...
and was questioned by Moro. The closed-court hearing lasted five hours. Thousands of Lula supporters went to Curitiba, together with Dilma Rousseff. After the hearing, Lula and Rousseff gave speeches to his supporters; Lula attacked what he called bias in the Brazilian media.


Guilty verdict and sentencing

Lula was found guilty by the lower court of accepting in bribes ($ US) in the form of improvements to his beachfront house, made by construction company , which in turn received lucrative contracts from the state-owned oil company
Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
. Lula also faced other charges, including money laundering, influence peddling and obstruction of justice. On 12 July 2017, Sergio Moro sentenced Lula to nine and a half years in prison. Lula remained free pending his appeal. Lula's lawyer accused the judge of bias and the judge replied that nobody, not even the former president, should be above the
rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
. On 25 January 2018, the Appeal Court of Porto Alegre found Lula guilty of corruption and money laundering and increased his sentence to 12 years of prison for one of the nine charges, while the other eight were still pending. On 26 March 2018, that same court upheld its own sentence, thus ending the case in that court.


Prison

On 5 April 2018, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) voted 6–5 to deny Lula's ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
'' petition. The court ruled that Lula must begin serving his sentence relating to his 12 July 2017 graft conviction for taking bribes from an engineering firm in return for help land contracts with state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, despite him not having exhausted all of his appeals, but rather only one appeal, at which the appellate court had unanimously upheld his sentence. Brazilian financial markets rallied, as the decision increased the chances a market-friendly candidate winning the election. Lula and his party vowed to continue his campaign from prison following the court's decision that he must surrender himself by 6 April. The head of Brazil's army, General Eduardo Villas Boas, called for Lula to be placed behind bars. Following Judge Moro's issuance of an arrest warrant for Lula on 6 April 2018, Lula appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee to – in addition to his primary case – take emergency action by asking the government of Brazil to prevent his arrest until he had exhausted all appeals, arguing that the Brazilian Supreme Court had narrowly adopted its ruling with only six votes against five, which "shows the need for an independent court"; the Committee ultimately denied Lula's request. In June 2018, the Committee denied Lula's request. Lula failed to turn himself in at the scheduled time, but he did so on the following day on 7 April 2018. After Lula was imprisoned, protesters took to the streets in cities across Brazil. Lula's imprisonment led to the formation of the Free Lula Movement. On 28 May 2018, the UN Human Rights Committee initiated an investigation into Lula's case. In August, the Committee "requested Brazil to take all necessary measures to ensure that Lula can enjoy and exercise his political rights while in prison, as candidate in the 2018 presidential elections"; Brazil's foreign ministry noted that the recommendation had no legal significance. On 8 July 2018, on-call weekend duty federal judge for the 4th region Rogério Favreto ordered Lula's release. Moro said that Favreto did not have the authority to release Lula, and Favreto's ruling was overturned the same day by the Judge Pedro Gebran Neto, president of the 4th regional court. On 2 August 2018, Pope Francis received three former allies of Lula in Rome:
Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President ...
,
Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...
and Carlos Ominami. Later, the pope addressed a handwritten note to Lula (posted on his Twitter account) with the following text: "To Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with my blessing, asking him to pray for me, Francisco". On 9 June 2019, '' The Intercept'' published leaked
Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
messages between the judge in Lula's case, Sergio Moro, and the Operation Car Wash lead prosecutor, Deltan Dallagnol, in which they allegedly conspired to convict Lula to prevent his candidacy for the 2018 presidential election. Moro was accused of lacking impartiality in Lula's trial. Following the disclosures, the resumption of legal proceedings was determined by the Supreme Court. Moro denied any wrongdoing or judicial misconduct during the course of Operation Car Wash and his investigation of Lula, claiming that the conversations leaked by ''The Intercept'' were misrepresented by the press and that conversations between prosecutors and judges are normal. Moro became
Minister of Justice and Public Security In Norway, the Minister of Justice and Public Security is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. The current minister is Astri Aas-Hanse ...
after the election of president Jair Bolsonaro. The information published by ''The Intercept'' prompted reactions both in Brazil and overseas. A group of 17 lawyers, ministers of Justice, and high court members from eight countries reacted to the leaks by describing former president Lula as a political prisoner and calling for his release. United States Senator
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
said Lula should be released and his conviction annulled. American Congressman
Ro Khanna Rohit Khanna (born September 13, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (Un ...
asked the Trump administration to investigate Lula's case, saying that "Moro was a bad actor and part of a larger conspiracy to send Lula to jail". A number of international intellectuals, activists and political leaders, including professor
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
and 12 US Congressmen, complained that the legal proceedings appeared to be designed to prevent Lula from running for president in 2018. American talk show host Michael Brooks, a vocal advocate for Lula, opined that Lula's imprisonment and Moro's alleged political motives had rendered the results of the 2018 election "fundamentally illegitimate".


Release

On 8 November 2019, Lula was released from prison after 580 days when the Brazilian Supreme Court ended mandatory imprisonment of convicted criminals after their first appeal failed. His release allowed him to remain out of prison until all of his appeals of his corruption and money laundering convictions were exhausted. On 27 November, the in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
increased Lula's sentence to 17 years. On 8 March 2021, Judge Edson Fachin of the Supreme Federal Court annulled all convictions against Lula, ruling that the court in Curitiba, in Paraná state, which convicted him lacked jurisdiction to do so because the crimes he was accused of did not take place in that state, as at the time Lula resided in the capital, Brasilia. Justice Fachin said the cases against him should therefore be retried by a court in that city. The judge did not rule as to whether Lula was guilty or not of the corruption charges. On 15 April, a full Supreme Court upheld the ruling in an 8–3 decision. On 23 March 2021, the Supreme Federal Court ruled by a 3–2 decision that Moro, who had overseen Lula's trial in a case, was biased against him. On 23 June it upheld the ruling in a 7–4 decision. On 24 June, Judge Gilmar Mendes of the Supreme Federal Court annulled the two other cases Moro had brought against Lula, reasoning that there was a link between them and the case in which Moro was declared biased. This meant that all evidence Moro had collected against Lula was inadmissible in court, and that fresh trials would be needed.


Between terms (2011–2023)


Health

On 29 October 2011, it was announced that Lula, a former smoker, had a
malignant tumor Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal ...
in his
larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ (anatomy), organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal ...
, which was detected after his voice became unusually hoarse. He had
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
to treat the tumor, and was later treated with
radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a therapy, treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of treatment of cancer, cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignancy, malignant cell (biology), ...
; his
laryngeal cancer Laryngeal cancer is a kind of cancer that can develop in any part of the larynx (voice box). It is typically a squamous-cell carcinoma, reflecting its origin from the epithelium of the larynx. The prognosis is affected by the location of the tumo ...
went into remission. Lula announced his recovery in March 2012. On 21 January 2021, Lula tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
while participating in the filming of an
Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
documentary in Cuba, five days after arriving on the island. He recovered without needing to be admitted to hospital. On 13 March 2021, Lula received his first dose of the
CoronaVac CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, was a whole inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. It was phase III clinically trialled in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and ...
vaccine. In October 2023, Lula had hip joint replacement surgery for a hip prosthesis, replacing the top of his right
femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...
with an implant to treat his arthrosis. He also had a
blepharoplasty Blepharoplasty (Greek: ''blepharon'', "eyelid" + ''plassein'' "to form") is the plastic surgery operation for correcting defects, deformities, and disfigurations of the eyelids; and for aesthetically modifying the eye region of the face. With ...
, a cosmetic plastic surgery to remove excess skin from both of his eyelids.


2018 presidential campaign

In 2017, Lula announced he would stand as the Workers' Party candidate for president again in the 2018 election. In September, he led a caravan of supporters which travelled through the states of Brazil, starting with Minas Gerais, whose governor was Lula's political ally Fernando Pimentel. While traveling through the South of Brazil, the caravan became the target of protests. In Paraná, a campaign bus was shot at, and in Rio Grande do Sul, rocks were thrown at pro-Lula militants. Despite Lula's imprisonment in April 2018, the Workers' Party kept Lula as the party's presidential candidate. In a poll conducted by
Ibope The Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE based on the Portuguese language name, Instituto Brasileiro de Opinião Pública e Estatística) is a Brazilian originated global market research company. IBOPE provides data on media ...
in June 2018, Lula led with 33% of vote intentions, with the
PSL PSL may refer to: Sport *Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league *Palau Soccer League, top division association football league in Palau *Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league *Philippine Super Liga, a defunct profes ...
candidate
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
polling second with 15%. Lula negotiated a national coalition with the PCdoB and regional alliances with the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
. The Workers' Party officially nominated Lula as its candidate on 5 August 2018, in São Paulo. Actor Sérgio Mamberti read a letter written by Lula, who was unable to attend because of his prison sentence. Former São Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad was named as Lula's running mate and intended to represent Lula in events and debates. If Lula was declared ineligible, Haddad would replace Lula as candidate, with Manuela d'Ávila replacing Haddad as the vice-presidential candidate. In response to a petition from Lula, the UN Human Rights Committee on 17 August 2018 suggested to the Brazilian government that it allow Lula to exercise his political rights. In a 26 August poll, Lula had 39 percent of vote intentions within one month of the first round. The same opinion polling put Lula ahead of all his challengers in a second round run-off, including the nearest one,
PSL PSL may refer to: Sport *Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league *Palau Soccer League, top division association football league in Palau *Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league *Philippine Super Liga, a defunct profes ...
candidate Jair Bolsonaro, by 52 to 32. Lula's candidacy was denied by the
Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court (, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Election Justice, Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court (Brazil), Regional Electoral Court (, TRE) in each of the 26 states and th ...
on 31 August 2018 by a majority vote of the seven-judge panel. On 11 September 2018, Lula officially withdrew and was replaced by Fernando Haddad, whom Lula endorsed.


Second presidency (2023–present)


2022 election

In May 2021, Lula said that he would run for a third term in the October 2022 general election, against the incumbent President
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
. He was 17% ahead of Bolsonaro in a poll in January 2022. In April 2022, Lula announced that his running mate would be
Geraldo Alckmin Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho (; born 7 November 1952) is a Brazilian physician and politician currently serving as 26th vice president of Brazil. He previously was the List of governors of São Paulo, Governor of São Paulo (state), S ...
, a three-term governor of São Paulo state who had run against Lula in the 2006 presidential elections. On 2 October, in the first round vote, Lula was in first place with 48% of the electorate, qualifying for the second round with Bolsonaro, who received 43% of the votes. Lula was elected in the second round on 30 October with 50.89% of the vote, the smallest margin in the history of Brazil's presidential elections, three days after his 77th birthday. He became the first president of Brazil elected to three terms, the first since Getúlio Vargas to serve in non-consecutive terms, and the first to unseat an incumbent president. He was sworn in on 1 January 2023. At age 77, he was the oldest Brazilian president at the time of inauguration.


Tenure

Lula said that his main commitments were: the reconstruction of the country in the face of the economic crisis; democracy, sovereignty and peace; economic development and stability; fighting poverty; education; implementation of a National System of Culture and the expansion of housing programmes. He held the presidency of the G20 from 2023 (succeeding
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
) until the 2024 Brazilian G20 Summit, where after this the presidency was handed over to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Lula's popularity declined; in September 2023, 38% of those polled considered him to be good or excellent, while 30% considered him to be average, and 31% viewed him as bad or terrible.


Foreign policy


= China

= In March 2023, Lula met in China with Chinese President
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
, and signed 15 memoranda of understanding and 20 agreements on a wide range of issues. Lula gave a speech in which he said that no one would keep Brazil from improving its relationship with China—which was taken as a reference to the United States. In January 2024, Lula reaffirmed to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi his recognition of China's policy of "one China", under which China claims Taiwan.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, in the meantime, cautioned Lula against cozying up to China, while remaining silent about China's human rights abuses.


= Cuba

= In September 2023, Lula called Cuba a "victim" of an "illegal"
United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba is the only active embargo within the United States which has prevented U.S. businesses from conducting trade or commerce with Cuban interests since 1958. Modern Cuba–United States relations, diplomatic ...
. He also denounced the inclusion of Cuba on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.


=Iran

= In March 2023, Lula's administration allowed two Iranian Navy warships, forward base ship IRIS ''Makran'' and
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
IRIS ''Dena'', to dock in Rio de Janeiro. U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Elizabeth Bagley said that in the past the warships had facilitated terrorist activities, and US Senator
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
said that "the docking of Iranian warships in Brazil is a dangerous development and a direct threat to the safety and security of Americans." Lula endorsed admitting Iran into the
BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...
organization, and in August 2023 met with Iranian president Ebrahim Raeisi. Lula stopped short of condemning Iran's rights abuses.


=Nicaragua

= In June 2023, at an
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
(OAS) summit, Lula tried to soften OAS criticism of Nicaragua's government, which was accused of repression and of violations of human rights and property rights. Nicaragua's former ambassador to the OAS, Arturo McFields, said that the proposed softening was "shameful," and that "President Lula is lying and telling another story that never existed in Nicaragua."


= Russia

= In May 2023, he declined an invitation to the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, saying that he "can't visit Russia at the moment", while confirming that he had spoken to Putin. In December 2023, Lula said he would invite Vladimir Putin to the
BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...
and G20 summits in Brazil. Due to Brazil being a signatory of the
Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
of the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
, Putin could be placed under arrest by the Brazilian authorities if he sets foot on Brazil's territory. Lula said Putin could be arrested in Brazil, but that would be the decision of Brazil's independent courts, not his government. In February 2024, he was visited by Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...
. In May 2025, he attended the Victory Day parade in Moscow.


= Russian invasion of Ukraine

= Lula has commented often on the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
. He condemned the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, but Ukraine called some of his comments as "Russian attempts to distort the truth". In May 2022, Lula blamed both Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
and Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying that Zelenskyy "is as responsible as Putin for the war". Lula also repeatedly criticized
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
for being partially responsible for the war. He accused NATO of "claiming for itself the right to install military bases in the vicinity of another country". In April 2023, Lula declared after a state visit to China that "the United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace". U.S.
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
spokesman John Kirby responded by accusing Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda", describing his comments as "simply misguided" and "suggesting the United States and Europe are somehow not interested in peace, or that we share responsibility for the war". In April 2023, Lula initially condemned Russia's violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and said Russia should withdraw from Ukrainian territory it has occupied since February 2022. Later, however, that same month, he suggested that Ukraine should "give up
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
" to Russia in exchange for
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
and Russia's withdrawal from Ukrainian territory it occupied after February 2022, saying Zelenskyy "cannot want everything". After Germany appealed to Lula to provide military aid to Ukraine by selling it arms, Lula refused. On 26 April, in a joint press conference, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez questioned Lula's position, stressing that as the victimized country Ukraine needed to be supported. Lula said that he is seeking peace in accordance with a binding foreign policy principle in the pacifist Brazilian Constitution of 1988. He said that the countries of the
Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...
, including Brazil, India, Indonesia and China "want peace", but both Putin and Zelenskyy "are convinced that they are going to win the war" and do not want to talk about peace. He noted the human cost of the war, as well as the war's impact on
food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...
, 2021–2023 global energy crisis, energy costs, and global supply chains.


= Saudi Arabia

= In November 2023, Lula met in Riyadh with the prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. They discussed strengthening bilateral relations, and investments in both countries. Salman said that a more robust strategic partnership between the two countries would benefit both sides. The $10 billion that the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia pledged to invest in Brazil was one topic of conversation. Lula mentioned Brazil's rapprochement with Arab countries. Salman also discussed Saudi Arabia's entry into BRICS in January 2024. Lula invited Salman to visit Brazil in 2024. In February 2024, Saudi Ambassador to Brazil Faisal Ghulam participated in a reception held by the ambassadors of Arab countries, Arab and Islamic countries in honour of Lula, and on behalf of the ambassadors of the Arab and Islamic countries, Ghulam delivered a speech in which he reviewed the developing relations between the Arab and Islamic countries and Brazil.


= Israel–Palestine war

= Lula condemned the Gaza war, Hamas attack on Israel carried out on 7 October 2023. On 11 October 2023, he called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Israel–Gaza war, stating, it was "urgently needed in defence of Israeli and Palestinian children". Lula urged Hamas to release Gaza war hostage crisis, kidnapped Israeli children and Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip and allow Palestinian children and their mothers to leave the war zone. On 25 October 2023, Lula stated, "It's not a war, it's a Palestinian genocide accusation, genocide". On 18 February 2024, he drew comparisons to the The Holocaust, Nazi Holocaust. That same day, he was Weaponization of antisemitism, accused of "blatant antisemitism" by Dani Dayan, the Chairman of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, for comparing Israel's actions to Adolf Hitler. Brazil's ambassador to Israel Frederico Meyer was recalled after these comments, and President Lula was designated a ''persona non grata'' in the State of Israel. Lula subsequently declined to apologise and despite having invoked a comparison with Adolf Hitler, he stated "I did not say the word Holocaust, that was the interpretation of the prime minister of Israel, it was not mine."


=United States

= In April 2023, alluding to the support of the United States for Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lula said that the US needs to "stop encouraging war." In May 2023, he said that US economic sanctions on Venezuela were "worse than a war" and "kill" women and children. In February 2024, University of São Paulo foreign policy expert Feliciano de Sa Guimaraes said Lula only listens to one side in his government, "the left-wing, anti-American voices who very aggressively speak of a radical change in the global order."


=Venezuela

= Lula restored diplomatic ties that Brazil had cut off with Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro government after 2018 elections that had been Venezuelan presidential crisis, condemned by critics as a sham. In March 2023, Lula refused to join 54 other nations and sign a United Nations declaration criticizing Venezuela's human rights abuses. In May 2023 Lula met with Maduro in Brazil. In May 2023, Lula warmly embraced and fully supported Venezuela's authoritarian leftist President Nicolás Maduro. Lula dismissed charges against Maduro of human rights and civil rights abuses as a political "constructed narrative." Lula was criticized by Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou, who said that the "worst thing we can do" is pretend there are no significant human rights problems in Venezuela, and by Chile's President Gabriel Boric, who said that Lula was making light of Human rights in Venezuela, human rights violations in Venezuela. Lula also criticized as "unjustified" Sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis, U.S. sanctions on Venezuela for its alleged human rights abuses, and criticized the United States for denying the legitimacy of Maduro, who the U.S. said had not allowed free elections.


Economy

In March 2023, Lula reinforced the ''Bolsa Família'' program. The programme was created during the first term of Lula and then significantly cut by
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
, with its goal being help to around 60 million Brazilians suffering from poverty. According to the World Bank estimates, the reinforced programme would reduce the poverty rate in Brazil to 24.3% – the level before the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2023, Lula announced a vast infrastructure investment programme of over $350 billion over four years. Part of this sum is earmarked to finance the "My home, my life" social housing project. It also includes 100 billion for energy and 65 billion for transport and roads. Education and health are also concerned, with the construction of schools and hospitals. The project also aims to boost economic growth and develop clean energy. At the beginning of September 2023, he presented a major plan to eradicate hunger, as 33 million Brazilians do not have enough to eat, and more than half the country is affected to varying degrees by some form of food insecurity. To this end, he set up a national network of food banks to prevent waste, increased the budget allocated to school meals, and increased the purchase of food from family farms to supply public canteens. These measures are part of a broader policy to build social housing and raise the minimum wage and other social benefits. The fight against world hunger is also high on the Brazilian president's international agenda. In the first quarter of 2023, Brazilian economy grew by 1.9%. In the second quarter, by 0.9%, 3 times more than expected, while many of the neighbors of Brazil saw a shrinkage in their economy. The possible reasons of this phenomenon included reduced inflation, a good harvest, and an improved credit rating. The economic policy of Lula regarding taxation, spending, public ownership of some companies probably played a major role in this. Explaining his economic philosophy Lula once said: ""[Brazilians] need to understand that the money that exists in this country needs to circulate in the hands of many people," "We do not want the concentration of wealth. We want more people to have access to credit to make the wheel of the economy turn. The growing economy needs to be distributed."


Environment

During his campaign, Lula pledged to end illegal logging. In 2004, Lula had presented a road map for curbing deforestation. It was part of "The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon", which sought to decrease deforestation in the Amazon by 80% by 2020. This plan was largely responsible for the 83% decrease in the Amazon deforestation rate in the years 2004 through 2012, but it was suspended during Bolsonaro's presidency. Lula re-affirmed the plan's goals in his third term, with a new target of zero illegal deforestation by the year 2030. The plan includes different measures for creating a sustainable economy in the Amazon region, like bioeconomy, rural credits and managed fishing. According to Amazon Conservation's MAAP forest monitoring programme, the deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon from the 1 January to the 8 November 2023 decreased by 59% in comparison to the same period in 2022. In July 2023 the deforestation rate was 66% lower than in July 2022. In the beginning of August Lula participated in the Belem summit, 8 Amazonian nations renewed Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, the Amazon cooperation treaty. However, there are concerns that illegal loggers have partly moved their action from the Amazon rainforest to Cerrado, where the environmental destruction has increased. As a whole, the rate of primary forest loss declined in Brazil by 36% in 2023. Bolsonaro had strongly cut spending for security in the Brazilian Amazon, and in 2022, 34 environmental defenders were murdered in this region. When Lula re-assumed office, he sent troops to restore law enforcement in the region. In October 2023, there were still "reports of violence, threats, torture, intimidation, attempts at criminalization and other non-lethal violations". In April, Biden pledged to give $500 million to the The Amazon Fund, Amazon Fund which was frozen during the rule of Bolsonaro and reactivated when Lula returned to power, to deal with climate change". According to John Kerry, the overall financial help from US to Brazil for stopping deforestation through different channels will be around 2 billion US dollars. Lula and French president Emmanuel Macron agreed about cooperation between Brazil and France on different environmental issues, including the transmission of 1.1 billion dollars for preserving the Amazon rainforest. Lula pledged to recognize 14 new Indigenous territory (Brazil), indigenous reserves. Six were recognized as of May 2023. Lula and American president Joe Biden committed to work together on the issue. Several hours after Lula talked about leaving fossil fuels at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (also known as COP28), his government held an auction in which it offered 603 territorial blocks for oil extraction. The territories cover 2% of the territory of Brazil, overlap with many protected areas or areas belonging to indigenous people and can result in a release of 1 gigaton of CO2. Lula has expressed support for the paving of BR-319 (Brazil highway), BR-319, a project initiated by the Bolsonaro government. Although he argues that the project can be done sustainably, one study found that the road could enable deforestation on a scale of territory the size of Florida by 2030. A court blocked the project in July 2024, saying that the government lacked a plan to combat the deforestation that would follow the implementation of the project.


Freedom of the press

In March 2023, the Lula government launched a campaign to fight "misinformation". The initiative was viewed by many as a tool for Lula's administration to delegitimize criticism it faces—under the guise of "fact-checking", and raised serious concerns about freedom of expression. In response, the senior programme director of the International Center for Journalists, International Centre for Journalists, Christina Tardáliga, tweeted "There is no such thing as government fact-checking. This appropriation of the term is misguided and offensive. What the government does is propaganda."


Health problems

In late October 2024, Lula suffered a fall in the official residence, which resulted in trauma to the back of his head and a small brain hemorrhage in the temporal-frontal region, prompting him to cancel, under advice from his doctors, a planned trip to a 16th BRICS summit, BRICS summit in Russia. In December of the same year, he was admitted to hospital after complaining of a headache. A brain haemorrhage was discovered after an MRI scan, and an emergency craniotomy was performed. The intracranial haemorrhage was attributed to his fall in October. After the operation he was reported to be recovering in intensive care. In May 2025, Lula was diagnosed with labyrinthitis after suffering from vertigo.


Political positions and philosophy

Lula has advocated "socialism of the 21st century", but Lulism is considered to be substantially similar to social liberalism. Although he showed a moderate centre-left liberal tendency economically, he highlighted his closeness with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and negatively evaluated Juan Guaidó during the Venezuelan crisis. He is "personally against" abortion, but maintains that it should be treated as a Unsafe abortion#Health risks, public health issue.


Palestine

Lula criticized the decisions by Western countries to cut funding to UNRWA and in response pledged to the State of Palestine, Palestinian government that Brazil would increase its funding to UNRWA. Lula has called for a two-state solution with Palestine "definitively recognised as a full and sovereign state". On 18 February 2024, Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while attending the African Union Summit, "What's happening in the Gaza Strip isn't a war, it's a genocide.... It's not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It's a war between a highly prepared army and women and children.... What's happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn't happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Adolf Hitler, Hitler decided to kill the Jews".


Honours and awards

The list of Lula's awards since 2003: * In 2008 he was awarded the UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. * In 2012 he received the Four Freedoms Award.


National honours


State honours


Foreign honours


Foreign awards


In popular culture

Academy Award-nominated Brazilian director Fábio Barreto directed the 2009 Brazilian biographical film ''Lula, Son of Brazil'' that depicts the life of Lula up to 35 years of age. Upon its release, it was the most expensive Brazilian film ever. The film was a commercial and critical failure. Critics charged that it was election propaganda, fostering a cult of personality. The Netflix Brazilian series ''The Mechanism (TV series), The Mechanism'' deals with Operation Car Wash, and has a character inspired by Lula, who is referred to as João Higino in the series. The 2019 Brazilian documentary, ''The Edge of Democracy'', written and directed by Petra Costa, chronicled the rise and fall of Lula and Dilma Rousseff, and the socio-political upheaval in Brazil during the period. Lula is also featured in the director's 2024 documentary ''Apocalypse in the Tropics''.


References


Further reading

* Silva, Luis Inácio da; Castro, Cassiana Rosa de; Machado, Sueli de Fátima; Santos, Alveci Oliveira de Orato; Ferreira, Luiz Tarcísio Teixeira; Teixeira, Paulo; Suplicy, Marta; Dutra, Olívio (2003). "The programme for land tenure legalization on public land in São Paulo, Brazil". ''Environment and Urbanization'' 15 (2): 191–200. * Bourne, R (2008).
Lula of Brazil : The story so far
'. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. . * Goertzel, Ted (2011).

'. Boca Raton, Florida: Brown Walker Press. . *


External links


Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's official page
on Facebook * * * *
Profile: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
BBC News. 28 January 2010. * Moore, Michael (20 April 2010)

''Time (magazine), Time''. ; Speeches
"Transcript of statements by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, to the high-level meeting for foreign investors"
PDF) . United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. 29 January 2004.
Meeting press release
.
"General Debate of the 64th Session"
(2009). United Nations. , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Luiz Inacio Lula da Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 1945 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian politicians 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Brazilian politicians 21st-century Roman Catholics Agriculture and food award winners Activists for Palestinian solidarity Brazilian amputees Brazilian Christian socialists Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian people with disabilities Brazilian prisoners and detainees Brazilian Roman Catholics Brazilian social democrats Brazilian trade unionists Catholic socialists Chiefs of staff of Brazil Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Heads of government who were later imprisoned Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Left-wing populists Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo Overturned convictions People from Pernambuco People from São Paulo Politicians with disabilities Presidents of Brazil Presidents of the Workers' Party (Brazil) Prisoners and detainees of Brazil Recipients of the Great Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Recipients of the Order of Liberty (Ukraine) Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil) Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo Vaza Jato