Lula has defined Brazil’s left for decades. Can his movement survive another Bolsonaro?
Lula’s Defining Test for Brazil’s Left
Goldlaner.com – Lula has defined Brazil’s left for decades, but Sunday’s presidential runoff could become a decisive test of the movement built around him. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faces right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a contest with consequences beyond one election.
The first round in early October left little room for certainty. Flávio Bolsonaro won 47.03% of the vote, while Lula received 45.16%, setting up a close race between candidates with sharply different views on the economy, public security and Brazil’s place in the world.
For Lula, the campaign unfolds amid deep political polarization, corruption investigations, tensions with the United States and a broader revival of right-wing politics across Latin America. Nearing 81 and having recently faced cancer for a second time, he is again confronting a difficult moment in a career defined by resilience.
From Pernambuco to the labor movement
Born in 1945 to a poor family in Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil, Lula was the seventh of eight children. When he was seven, his family moved to southeastern Brazil in search of better opportunities.
He shined shoes before becoming a metalworker in the industrial region outside São Paulo. A workplace accident in 1964 cost him part of his left little finger, an injury that became a lasting symbol of the working-class identity central to his public image.
Lula rose to prominence as a union leader in the factory districts during the 1970s, in the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship. After a 1980 strike, he was detained for 31 days under the National Security Law.
A political project shaped by comebacks
Lula has defined Brazil’s left not only through his background but also through his ability to form broad alliances. Although he once told journalist Ricardo Kotscho that union leaders should stay out of politics, he helped found the Workers’ Party, or PT, within two years.
His route to the presidency included defeats in 1989, 1994 and 1998. In 2002, he widened his appeal beyond the PT’s traditional base, adopted a more conciliatory message for business leaders and built alliances that helped secure his first presidential victory.
That approach remained visible in 2022, when Lula chose Geraldo Alckmin as his running mate. Alckmin, a former center-right PSDB figure and one-time rival, had run against Lula in the 2006 presidential election. He is again on Lula’s ticket in the current campaign.
Lula’s political recovery also followed his imprisonment. He left Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba on November 8, 2019, after 580 days in custody, returning to supporters who had gathered regularly outside the building and called for his release.
“They didn’t imprison a man. They tried to kill an idea. But you can’t kill an idea.”
Now, Lula has defined Brazil’s left through another high-stakes campaign: one that may determine whether his coalition can endure against a Bolsonaro-led challenge after his own political era ends.
FAQ: Brazil’s Presidential Runoff
Who is Lula facing in the runoff?
Lula is running against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
What were the first-round results?
Flávio Bolsonaro received 47.03% of the vote in early October, ahead of Lula’s 45.16%.
Why does this election matter for Brazil’s left?
The runoff will test whether the political coalition and voter base Lula has built over decades can remain competitive against a resurgent right-wing movement.