Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, was born on October 27, 1945, in Garanhuns, Pernambuco, Brazil. The son of an agricultural laborer and a seamstress, he grew up in a modest household and did not learn to read until age ten. After completing only the fifth grade, he entered the workforce full‑time, eventually becoming a metalworker.
Early Union Leadership
In 1966 Lula began working as a metalworker and quickly became active in the metalworkers’ union. By 1975 he was elected president of that union, and in 1980 he helped found the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores). That same year he participated in a major union strike that led to his 31‑day detention.
Political Rise
Lula’s first bid for elected office came in 1982 when he ran for governor of São Paulo, finishing fourth. He later helped establish the Central Única dos Trabalhadores, a national trade‑union confederation, and was elected to Brazil’s Congress in 1986. He ran for president in 1989, 1994, and 1998, each time finishing as the runner‑up.
Presidential Tenure
In the 2002 runoff election Lula won the presidency with 61.3 % of the vote and took office on January 1, 2003. He was re‑elected in 2006, again with roughly 61 % of the vote. During his administration he promoted social programs aimed at reducing poverty and was credited with helping Rio de Janeiro secure the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2010 Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
When he left office on January 1, 2011, his approval rating was reported at 90 %.
Health and Legal Challenges
In October 2011 Lula was diagnosed with throat cancer, which was declared in complete remission by February 2012. He later served briefly as chief of staff to his successor, Dilma Rousseff, before a Supreme Court injunction blocked the appointment in March 2016.
Starting in September 2016, Lula faced a series of corruption investigations linked to the Operation Car Wash probe. He denied the accusations, calling them “fiction” and alleging political motivation. A series of trials resulted in convictions, prison sentences, and appeals that kept him out of the 2018 presidential race.
Return to Politics
In March 2021 Brazil’s courts annulled his convictions, restoring his political rights. He announced his pre‑candidacy for the 2022 election in May 2022. In the October 2022 first round, Lula received 48.4 % of the vote, trailing Jair Bolsonaro’s 43.2 %. The runoff on October 30 2022 resulted in a narrow victory for Lula, marking a comeback to the nation’s highest office.
His 2022 win signaled a shift back to left‑leaning governance in Brazil after a period of right‑wing leadership.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
