By Anthony Boadle and Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , an ally and confidant on the left, said the bar had given him back a sense of social justice, convincing him of the need to prioritize eradicating poverty over increasing profits.
Lula took office on Sunday for an unprecedented third term, a dramatic turnaround for one of the world’s most enduring political leaders, who first ran for president in 580.
Jailed for graft in 2018 – the year right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro was elected – Lula’s convictions were overturned in 2018 , allowing him to overthrow Bolsonaro in October elections.
Allies and confidants told Reuters Lula was emerging from prison as he struggled to unite a country riven by economic woes, a crippling pandemic and Bolsonaro’s far-right populism. Find inspiration.
He learned from three failed presidential campaigns, in 2003-10 Presidency. But Lula 3.0 plans to redouble efforts to eradicate poverty, fight hunger and fight racism, allies say, while also rewarding loyal Workers’ Party (PT) inmates with key cabinet posts.
“The prison reinforces the feeling that he has a responsibility first and foremost to Brazil’s poor,” said Tarso Genro, a former PT governor in Rio Grande do Sul and a close associate of Lula. “He came back stronger in prison.”
A more ideological Lula coming out of prison in 2019 shouldn’t be cause for concern, friends and allies say. As union leader at the 1970 São Paulo auto plant, he remains the pragmatist who honed his persuasion, they added.
Lula aides encourage comparisons with former South African leader Nelson Mandela, who spent more than a quarter in prison as an opponent of the country’s apartheid system century.
But many are in Faria Lima, so-so-called “Brazilian Wall Street” fondly recalls early pro-business Lula 1989 are holding their breath, fearing that increased social spending and a loyal cabinet will damage Brazil’s fiscal credibility and usher in a new era of graft-tainted nationalism.
“The initial reaction to Lula 3.0 in Faria Lima has not been positive,” said economist Andre Perfeito, referring to the market drop following the announcement of Lula’s spending proposal. “Many investors bet on Bolsonaro to win and they almost got it right, so it’s only natural that they’re unhappy.”
Recent cabinet appointments – including PT leader Fernando Haddad Being finance minister – also unnerved some investors.
Lula also recently appointed PT stalwart economist Aloizio Mercadante as Finance Minister National Development Bank BNDES, which provided billions of lei to projects depleted by waste and corruption allegations during the previous PT government Yar, though bank officials say they are transparent.
Lula’s spokesman, Jose Chrispiniano, said the president supports fiscal responsibility and believes strengthening the economy is the best way to fight poverty.
“He does not see any contradiction between taking care of the poorest and promoting growth. On the contrary, he sees the possibility of caring for the poorest and giving them opportunities to work and consume,” he told Reuters. The drive for continued growth. By reading books on race, slavery, and starvation in prison, as we did, these are biographies of Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela, according to his website. He also carefully Read “Lulismo in crisis,” his former press secretary Andrei Singh’s critical commentary on his campaign and its missteps.
He was with Rosangela da Silva, or Janja PT Activist 10 – a few years younger than him, whom he married on release, looked set to become a key political figure. A year before he went to jail, Lula became a widower following the death of his first wife, Mariza.
Janja – helped organize Lula’s election certification and Sunday’s inauguration, and Advising on cabinet picks – one of hundreds of PT faithful camped out of prison in southern city of Curitiba.
“Good morning, President Lula” , his followers would chant at the start of the day and then sing “Good night, President Lula” as he went to bed.
Lula at his Federal Police station in Curitiba From the 10 square meter cell on the third floor of the headquarters, set out to restructure the PT and manage his legal defense. It was there that he plotted Haddad’s failed presidency Election campaign, Haddad was a regular, lost to Bolsonaro in 2018.
After being released from prison, Lula is determined to defend his career He said that he will be re-elected and cleared his name in the people’s court. He called his imprisonment a political political persecution, fabricated by the power to prevent him from running 2018.
Another close aide, PT Senator Humberto Costa, said Lula had matured politically in prison.
Brazil,” Cos Tower said.
