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 president of Brazil since 2023 and from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Workers' Party. Born in Pernambuco, 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 unionist. Between 1978 and 1980, he led the ABC workers' strikes during Brazil's military dictatorship, 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. He ran for president in 1989, but lost in the second round. He also lost presidential elections in 1994 and 1998. He became president in 2002, in a runoff. In 2006, he was successfully re-elected in the second round. Described as left-wing, his first presidency coincided with South America's first pink tide. 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, and remained active in politics and gave lectures. In July 2017, Lula was convicted on charges of money laundering and corruption in the Operation Car Wash context. He was arrested in April 2018 and went on to spend a total of 580 days in prison. Lula 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 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 to have defeated an incumbent president and to be elected to a third term. During his second presidency, Lula faced the 8 January 2023 attacks on federal institutions and pursued several major institutional and economic reforms, including a landmark tax reform and a new fiscal framework. His government also cut income taxes for the middle class and secured a constitutional amendment reducing the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours. The period saw the highest GDP growth in over a decade, along with lower inflation, record-low unemployment and a decline in income inequality. However, persistent fiscal deficits, resulting from a gradualist approach to fiscal consolidation, contributed to rising public debt and relatively high interest rates, which in turn helped push household debt to record levels. His administration has also prioritized environmental policy, with Amazon deforestation falling to its lowest level in over a decade. It has also renewed international engagement, and led the negotiations that paved the way for the preliminary approval of the Mercosur–European Union trade agreement. On 2 August 2026, Lula formally launched his bid for reelection in the 2026 general election.

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