{"id":1199,"date":"2013-03-08T22:12:44","date_gmt":"2013-03-09T03:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.brown.edu\/fivecenturiesofchange\/?page_id=1199"},"modified":"2016-06-06T19:56:53","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T19:56:53","slug":"luiz-ignacio-lula-da-silva","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/fivecenturiesofchange\/chapters\/chapter-8\/luiz-ignacio-lula-da-silva\/","title":{"rendered":"Luiz Ign\u00e1cio Lula da Silva"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Lula as President (in public domain).<\/p><\/div>\n

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By 2002, Fernando Henrique Cardoso\u2019s Plano Real had curtailed inflation, but a number of problems still needed to be addressed. Most pressing in the economic sector were Brazil\u2019s growth rate, which had slowed as a result of stagnation, and the large debts that the country had accrued. Real minimum wages were low, and the economic crisis had begun to deter foreign investment.<\/p>\n

As Cardoso\u2019s second term came to a close in 2002, several possible candidates were considered for his succession. While some candidates dropped out in response to scandals or joined the run shortly before the election, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva remained a favorite in the polls throughout the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of us<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Lula speaks at the House of Representatives (in public domain).<\/p><\/div>\n

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Lula\u2019s lead as the preferred presidential candidate provoked wild reactions. A metalworker with no schooling, Lula, unlike any other president in Brazilian history, came from the working class.\u00a0 His unpolished Portuguese, lack of formal education, and the socialist platform of the Workers\u2019 Party he represented scared many among the elite, while his charisma and humble background endeared him to many among lower and middle classes.<\/p>\n

Born into poverty in a rural area in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Lula\u2019s family moved to S\u00e3o Paulo when he was a young child, and he spent his early years as a factory employee in the automobile industry. An active member in the workers\u2019 union in S\u00e3o Bernardo, located in the industrial belt around S\u00e3o Paulo, he eventually became president of the metalworkers\u2019 union and led a wave of strikes from 1978 to 1980. He participated in the founding of the Workers\u2019 Party (PT, Partido dos Trabalhadores<\/i>), a left-wing political party created in the waning years of the dictatorship. After running unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1989, 1994, and 1998, Lula a new image as he prepared to make his fourth bid in 2002.<\/p>\n

Lula struggled to shake the image of someone lacking experience in public administration. His Marxist views caused alarm among many who did not know what to expect if Lula were elected President of Brazil. How would he change economic policies? What would be his approach toward foreign policy and foreign investment in Brazil? How would he diminish the colossal Brazilian debt and increase investment in the country? The real question was, however, whether the Brazilian population was ready to vote for someone so similar to them. Despite all of these anxieties, Lula was elected in 2002 in the second-round of the election, garnering 52 million votes, or 61.3% of the total.<\/p>\n

How Lula changed Brazilian Society<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lula enacted several significant changes in the Brazilian social sphere. Among the most notable was the socioeconomic program, Bolsa Fam\u00edlia, or Family Stipend, which Lula created in 2003 during a period of increased economic stability. The Bolsa Fam\u00edlia awards families in absolute poverty (per capita income of less than 70 reais<\/i> or about 35 dollars a month) a small amount of money. For families with children that have a per capita income of less than 140 reais<\/i> or 70 dollars a month, the program grants a small sum of money per child (up to three children) as long as they are vaccinated, stay in school, and do not engage in illegal child labor.1<\/sup> Bolsa Fam\u00edlia was derived from a previous program in the Cardoso administration called Bolsa Escola (School Stipend), which was then mergered with new programs from Lula\u2019s Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) campaign that aimed to reduce short-term poverty and increase human capital.<\/p>\n

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As of 2010, 12.4 million households had enrolled in the program. According to the Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Get\u00falio Vargas, one sixth of Brazil\u2019s strides in poverty reduction can be attributed to this program, which only costs 0.5% of Brazilian GDP. Bolsa Fam\u00edlia is not perfect, however: there are a greater percentage of families enrolled from rural areas than urban ones, even though urban areas tend to have the most startling levels of poverty and have a harder time keeping children away from child labor. 2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Lula also managed to increase the minimum wage from R$200 to R$510 (100 dollars to 205 dollars) during his presidency. Furthermore, 13 million new jobs were created. Lula gave Brazilians a sense of hope and demonstrated the value in redistribution of income. 3<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Economy under Lula<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Lula’s official portrait for his first term (in public domain).<\/p><\/div>\n

When Lula ran for the presidency, he emphasized how different his government would be from that of Cardoso\u2019s, attributing many of the country\u2019s problems to the previous administration. As soon as he was elected, however, Lula decided to continue the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program signed in 2002 by Cardoso and his Minister of Finance Pedro Malan, shocking many PT leftists. Lula was surprisingly conservative and conventional for someone who had been elected with a socialist platform.<\/p>\n

Throughout the Lula government, Brazil\u2019s foreign trade record was strengthened and the trade surplus increased, two factors largely responsible for the alleviation of debt and economic growth. Economic growth rose from 1.9% to 5.2%, and Brazil\u2019s trade surplus increased from $13.1 billion to $33.3 billion. With growing exports, Lula had the freedom to fight Brazil\u2019s core poverty and invest in social programs.<\/p>\n

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Bribery and Corruption<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2005, a scandal arose. Congressman Roberto Jefferson came forward and accused the PT of paying a number of congressional representatives with government funds to pass bills that otherwise would not have had majority support.\u00a0 They became known as the mensal\u00e3o<\/i> (or big monthly payment). A wave of accusations of substantial bribes and \u201coff the book\u201d payments followed which received significant television coverage and seemed to point to the culpability of Lula\u2019s chief aides. The president, however, denied any knowledge or involvement. While the scandals were detrimental to Lula\u2019s popularity, the large increases in minimum wage and success of the Bolsa Familia program aided in his re-election in 2006. Da Silva defended himself in an August 2012 New York Times <\/i>article:<\/p>\n

“I do not believe there was a mensal\u00e3o,\u201d Mr. da Silva said, claiming that his party had no need to buy votes because it had already secured a majority in Congress through political allegiances. But he also said he would respect the high court\u2019s ruling on the case.4<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n

In 2012, the Supremo Tribunal Federal<\/i>, the Brazilian Supreme Court, reviewed the accusations on a case-by-case basis and has convicted several government officials of illegal actions and involvement in the corruption scandals. Although prosecutors have attempted to a build case against Lula, none have been ruled credible by the court, and he remains unscathed by the scandal.<\/p>\n

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Lula and his ex-minister Jose Dirc\u00e9u (in public domain).<\/p><\/div>\n

Dilma Rousseff<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2009, Lula chose Dilma Rousseff, his Chief of Staff, as his favorite to succeed him in the upcoming 2010 presidential elections. During her campaign, Rousseff presented herself as an extension of the eight-year Lula government. Her campaign treated Cardoso\u2019s as the \u201cprevious government,\u201d bashing it for its flaws, while praising Lula\u2019s government for its good qualities and promising to continue his policies. Lula went on national television to openly support her while still president. As a result, he was fined several times for violating electoral regulations. 5<\/sup><\/p>\n

Lula\u2019s Luck<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lula benefited a great deal from changes underway before his presidency, and also behavior not necessarily under his own control. There was a decrease in population growth, easing the burden of essential social services. Geologists found a huge new oil field deep in the ocean off the Brazilian coast, and ethanol production expanded.\u00a0 The world economy saw a booming market for primary products, allowing Brazil\u2019s exports to grow. Lula also benefited from a certain stability created by the Cardoso government, with the Plano Real taming inflation while avoiding recession and the privatization of monopolies increasing the inflow of foreign capital.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n