Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (b. 1945)

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Biography

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A member of the Workers' Party, Lula was also the 35th president from 2003 to 2011.

In Their Own Words (5)

How can the world’s largest economic power say that it has no milk for children after President Biden announced $40 billion to buy arms meant for the war in Ukraine? (During his presidential campaign in 2022) ... Zelensky is as responsible as Putin for the war. Because in the war, there’s not just one person guilty... (in an interview with Time magazine May 2022) If I win the election we will make an effort for dialogue to establish peace again. We are not interested in any type of war (tweeted in August 2022)The only position that interests Brazil in terms of the question of Ukraine and Russia is peace. The time of war is the time of destruction. The world needs peace, addressing the issue of the climate, and ending hunger. (Tweeted in October 2022)

Quoted in Ben Norton, "Latin America refuses to send Ukraine weapons, despite Western pressure", Geo Political Economy Report (29 January 2023) , 2016

I am the son of an illiterate father and mother.

In: Speech published at villagemagazine.ie (August 2005) , 2003

If there is something which I am proud, in this country, it is that there is no living soul more honest than me. Not even in the Federal Police, not even in the Public Ministry, not even in the Catholic Church, not even in the evangelical church. There may be just as equal, but I doubt it.

Testimony to the Federal Police regarding the "Lava-jato Operation" investigation. "'Não tem uma viva alma mais honesta do que eu' afirma Lula", estadao.com.br (January 20, 2016) , 2016

I want to know if the people are in the shit and I want to take the people out of the shit in which they are." – during a speech in São Luís, the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. After recognizing he cursed, he stated: "Of course I cursed. Tomorrow, commentators of the major newspapers will say that Lula cursed, but I'm aware that they curse more than I do everyday, and I'm aware of how the poor people of this country live.

"Quero tirar o povo da merda", diz Lula; watch, folha.uol.com, (10 December 2009) , 2003

Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar. Why can't we do based on our own currencies? Who was it that decided that the dollar was the currency after the disappearance of the gold standard?

"Discurso...na cerimônia de posse de Dilma Rousseff na Presidência do NBD", gov.br (13 April 2023) , 2023

Timeline

The story of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, told in moments.

1945 Birth

Born Luiz Inacio da Silva in Pernambuco, Brazil. Quit school after second grade to work. Didn't learn to read until he was 10. Moved to Sao Paulo at age seven. Became a metalworker as a teenager.

Quitting school after second grade. Did literacy at ten feel like catching up? Losing a finger in a press accident. Did the hand that remained work harder?

1980 Event

Co-founded the Workers' Party during Brazil's military dictatorship. Between 1978 and 1980 he'd led the ABC workers' strikes, shutting down auto factories. Lost a finger in a press accident in 1968. He organized with the hand he had left.

Co-founding the Workers' Party during a dictatorship. Was that risk calculated? Shutting down auto factories with strikes. Were you afraid?

2002 Event

Won the presidency on his fourth attempt, after losing in 1989, 1994, and 1998. His social programs lifted millions out of poverty. GDP grew. External debt fell. He left office in 2011 with an 80% approval rating.

Winning the presidency on the fourth attempt. What kept you running after three losses? Leaving office with 80% approval. Did that feel like vindication?

2018 Event

Arrested on corruption charges in Operation Car Wash. Spent 580 days in prison. His convictions were later nullified by the Supreme Federal Court in 2021, which found serious bias in the original proceedings.

580 days in prison, convictions later nullified. Was prison radicalizing? Serious bias found in the original proceedings. Were you surprised?

2023 Event

Sworn in as president for a third term at age 77. He'd defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a runoff. Oldest president in Brazilian history at inauguration. First to win a third term. First to defeat a sitting president.

President again at seventy-seven. Did you have something left to prove? First to defeat a sitting president. Was Bolsonaro the motivation?