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Some context: Lula currently has 41% of voting intentions (against Bolsonaro's 26%) [1]. He was elected president twice, from 2003 to 2010. He's a very contest

Some context: Lula currently has 41% of voting intentions (against Bolsonaro's 26%) [1]. He was elected president twice, from 2003 to 2010. He's a very contested figure in Brazil. On the one hand, he earned popularity for creating social welfare programs such as Bolsa Família [2]. On the other, he's been involved in various corruption scandals, including the Mensalão vote-buying scandal [3] and the Petrobras scandal [4], one of the biggest the world has seen. [1] https://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/politica/2022/02/21/interna_politica,1346478/lula-lidera-intencoes-de-voto-com-41-bolsonaro-tem-26-diz-pesquisa.shtml https://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/politica/2022/02/21/intern... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsa_Fam%C3%ADlia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsa_Fam%C3%ADlia [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensal%C3%A3o_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensal%C3%A3o_scandal [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Car_Wash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Car_Wash

piva00 5y ago
Some more context, Bolsa Família wasn't actually created but became an umbrella social program to simplify all social benefits that were split into multiple programs before Lula. Mensalão happened, and the Petrobras scandal, both involves much more than just Lula, it's how politics in Brazil work. Car Wash involved virtually every single party in Brazil, Mensalão involved every single one of the "center" parties (we should just call them "opportunistic parties") in Brazil. At the same time, Lula's government lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty, kickstarted numerous infrastructure projects for the poorest areas of Brazil and so on. Everything is a double-edged sword in Brazilian politics, given the prospects for the next 5-10 years I don't see any other politician than Lula that has enough political clout to beat Bolsonaro while implementing social policies such as Lula's previous governments.

piva00 5y ago

Some more context, Bolsa Família wasn't actually created but became an umbrella social program to simplify all social benefits that were split into multiple programs before Lula. Mensalão happened, and the Petrobras scandal, both involves much more than just Lula, it's how politics in Brazil work. Car Wash involved virtually every single party in Brazil, Mensalão involved every single one of the "center" parties (we should just call them "opportunistic parties") in Brazil. At the same time, Lula's government lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty, kickstarted numerous infrastructure projects for the poorest areas of Brazil and so on. Everything is a double-edged sword in Brazilian politics, given the prospects for the next 5-10 years I don't see any other politician than Lula that has enough political clout to beat Bolsonaro while implementing social policies such as Lula's previous governments.