Lula’s shadow looms over Brazil presidential election
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RIO DE JANEIRO: The imposing igure of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will likely cast a shadow over the next Brazilian government in much the same way it has during the often surreal election campaign, especially if the left returns to power.
Though Lula has been in prison since April, the saga of his on-off candidacy made this one of the most unpredictable presidential races in recent memory, until he was ruled out of the running in August.
His 12-year conviction for accepting a bribe disqualiied him from running for ofice due to Brazil’s “clean slate” law.
But only a month later did he inally admit defeat and name the relatively unknown Fernando Haddad to replace him as the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate in the October elections.
The 72-year-old former metal factory worker fought so long and hard to try to win a third presidential mandate -- following a largely successful previous stint from 2003-10 -- that he left Haddad little time to campaign.
While many denounced Lula’s stubborn ight as an “ego trip,” it may pay off in the end, as Haddad’s chances don’t seem to have been harmed in the slightest by his 11th-hour inclusion on the ballot.
The latest polls show him second to right-wing frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro with 22 percent in the October 7 irst round -- but predicted he would defeat the ex-army captain in a run-off on October 28.
“The master of timing in this campaign has been Lula,” insisted Gaspard Estrada, a Latin America specialist at the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences-po) in Paris.
“It is by maintaining his candidacy that he managed to place the PT at the center of the game. From his cell in Curitiba, he played a key role.”
Other parties were left hanging for months, waiting to ind out if Lula would run, with the center-right suffering the most adverse effects as it “took a huge amount of time to deine its strategy of alliances.”
And even behind bars, Lula’s charisma has the power to incite passions.
He left ofice in 2010 with record approval ratings in an emerging economy enjoying unprecedented growth.
He maintains great appeal on the left but has many enemies, from the center to the far-right. They blame the PT, which has won the last four presidential elections, for Brazil’s current political, economic and security woes.