At his release, the former head of state assured wanting to “save” Brazil from the “hatred project” of Jair Bolsonaro. The fight has proven to be more complicated than announced, and the new elected official inherits a divided country.
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In the world of Brazilian football, this is called a “virada”. In France, we will rather use the Spaniard “Rontoda”, a reversal of spectacular game situation, allowing a given team losing to prevail over his opponent. It is an understatement to say if the expression goes today as a glove in Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, winner in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election against Jair Bolsonaro with 50.9 % of the votes, Sunday October 30.
The “Brazil Phoenix” returns from afar. From far away. Barely three years ago, Lula was still in prison, sentenced to twelve years and one month for corruption. A time entrenched at the Syndicat des Métallos de Sao Bernardo Do Campo, the leader of the left had eventually surrendered. On April 7, 2018, he was taken to his Curitiba cell, at night and by helicopter, like a criminal. At the time, the whole press described a finished lula, politically dead and buried in shame.
From his prison, Lula attended the victory of Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election in October 2018, for which he was leaving favorite. Worse: he sees his worst enemy, Sergio Moro, a “star” judge of the “Lava Jato” operation who condemned him, become Minister of Justice. The former union leader, founder of the great workers ‘party (PT), popular president of a golden decade (2003-2011), described as “most popular politician in the world” by Barack Obama himself, n’ is more than the shadow of himself.
Lula is then 73 years old. But he does not give up. He believes in his star. It is in his nature: born in the misery of the Nordeste, the former metallic trade unionist has fifty years of political life in the legs. He knows tortuous Brazilian history. He predicts that the extreme right will not resist the experience of power and that Brazil, sooner or later, will quickly turn to him. “The powerful can kill one, two, three roses, but they will not be able to prevent the arrival of spring!”, He assured his entry into prison.
man learned from the past from the past
History will prove him right. In Curitiba, Lula does not remain inactive. He reads, playing sports, continues interviews, receives his friends from around the world (among them, French Jean-Luc Mélenchon). Behind the scenes, his lawyers are busy. On November 8, 2019, to everyone’s surprise, they obtained a favorable decision of the Federal Supreme Court: no one can be imprisoned before the exhaustion of its appeals, decreed the highest judicial body in the country. Lula comes out of prison. He will have spent 580 days there.
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