On Wednesday, fresh off the heels of a Supreme Court Justice annulling all corruption charges against him, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made his first public appearance in front of a metalworkers’ union in São Paulo.
Although he stopped short of putting forth his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election, he nonetheless dropped hints that incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro could expect a stern challenge in the upcoming election. In fact, a banner behind him read: “Health, jobs, and justice for Brazil”.
However, he remarked, “My head has no time to think about a candidacy in 2022.”
He told the union workers, “Do not be afraid of me,” before going on to say, “This country is in a state of utter tumult and confusion because there’s no government. I’ll repeat that: this-country-has-no-government.” He added, “This country doesn’t take care of the economy, of job creation, wages, health care, the environment, education, young people.”
More specifically, he lambasted Bolsonaro for his public health failures, saying that his refusal to acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic and his inability to secure sufficient vaccines in times has meant that Brazil has lost at least 270,000 lives to COVID-19 and continues to record in excess of 1,000 deaths from the virus every day, with Lula saying, “Many of these deaths could have been avoided.” On the topic of vaccines, the former president said, For the love of God. This virus killed nearly 2,000 people yesterday.” He went on to say, “Vaccines aren’t about whether you have the money or not. They’re about whether you love life or love death.”
Later on, in an interview, he said that the left-wing Worker’s Party (PT), which he is a member of, could defeat Bolsonaro in 2022, but noted, that it was “too early” to think about who the party’s candidate would be.
Bolsonaro has previously claimed that the Pfizer vaccine has serious “side effects” and that he will not take the vaccine himself. In response to such remarks, Lula said, “Don't follow any imbecile decisions by the president of the republic or the health minister: get vaccinated.” At this stage, only 3.5% of Brazil’s population has been vaccinated.
Bolsonaro reacted to Lula’s comments by saying, “(Lula's criticism) is unjustified. He is now beginning his campaign, but has nothing good to show. Their campaign is merely to criticize, lie and promote disinformation.”
That being said, illustrating the impact of Lula’s criticism, at his next public appearance, Bolsonaro and his aides were all wearing masks, which is somewhat of a rare occurrence for a president who has led multiple maskless anti-lockdown protests and demonstrations outside the presidential palace. In fact, he has been seen “shaking hands, bumping fists, and slapping […] backs” with supporters at several rallies over the past year.
On Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Luiz Edson Fachin in Brazil cleared Lula, who was in office from 2003 to 2010, of all corruption charges, paving the way for him to run against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in 2022, after his candidacy was rejected for the 2018 election.
Lula was convicted in 2017 and jailed in 2018 for acting as a ‘ringleader’ in the Petrobras scandal during Dilma Rousseff’s term, which lasted from 2011 to 2016. He was implicated in a multi-billion dollar corruption and money-laundering scandal with state-run energy company Petrobras. He was also found guilty of accepting a $1 million bribe from construction company OAS in exchange for a lucrative public contract.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision this week, there still exists the possibility that Lula can be convicted again before the October 2022 election, in which case his candidacy would once again be revoked. At the same time, the Supreme Court could uphold an appeal by the prosecutor-general’s office, which would reverse Justice Fachin’s verdict. However, it has been suggested that the statute of limitations for prosecution may have expired.
The left-wing politician remains a highly popular figure in Brazil, and left office with an approval rating that was above 80%. Although his popularity has somewhat receded in light of the many corruption scandals he is associated with, Bolsonaro’s failure to handle the coronavirus crisis could provide an opening for Lula.
A survey conducted by Ipec that was published in the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo last week revealed that 50% of the 2,002 interviewed would “certainly” or “could” vote for Lula, compared to just 38% for Bolsonaro. 44% said they would “never” vote for Lula, while 56% said they would “never” vote for Bolsonaro.
Although Lula has not formally confirmed his candidacy for the 2022 election, his enduring popularity and anger against Bolsonaro’s handling of the public health crisis and the economy mean that this announcement is likely all but a formality.
Former Brazilian President Lula Hits Out at Bolsonaro After Corruption Charges Annulled
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to drop corruption charges against him, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva delivered a speech in which he lambasted incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
March 12, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: AMANDA PEROBELLI / REUTERSFormer Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva