Brazilian leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a third presidential term on Sunday in a remarkable comeback for the country's first working class president, whose storied political career nearly ended in prison.
A former metalworker born to illiterate farm hands, Lula has been the most central figure in Brazilian politics for four decades, since leading labor union strikes against a military dictatorship in the 1980s and forming the leftist Workers Party.by a tight margin in a runoff on Sunday
The 77-year-old, whose once-bushy hair and trademark beard have gone white, relied on unmatched political instincts and charisma to overcome intense skepticism of his Workers Party, which oversaw a deep recession and vast corruption scandal that eventually brought Bolsonaro to power. However, Lula's legacy was tarnished amid revelations of a vast kickback scheme on public contracts, benefiting leaders from major political parties, including his own. That and a deep 2015-2016 recession built momentum for the impeachment of his hand-picked successor, former President Dilma Rousseff.
The former president was freed after 19 months, and Brazil's Supreme Court annulled his convictions because of improper jurisdiction, after the judge overseeing his prosecution was found partial. Lula always denied the charges and said his enemies had framed him to remove him from Brazilian politics.
Lula promises to attract foreign investment by restoring Brazil's credibility as a steward of the Amazon rainforest, where Bolsonaro let deforestation soar to a 15-year high.
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