Lula da Silva, Luiz Inácio << LOO luh duh SIHL vuh, loo EESH ee NAHS yoo >> (1945-…), is a Brazilian political leader. He became the president of Brazil in 2023. He also served as president from 2003 through 2010. He is popularly known as Lula, a common nickname for Luiz.
Lula was born Luiz Inácio da Silva on Oct. 27, 1945, in the state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil. When he was 7 years old, Lula moved with his family to the state of São Paulo. As a child, he worked after school to supplement the family income. Lula began working in a warehouse at the age of 14 and later transferred to a screw factory. During the early 1960’s, he took vocational education courses. In the mid-1960’s, Lula began a job at one of Brazil’s largest metalworking companies. He joined the Metalworkers’ Union, and in 1975 became union president.
In 1980, Lula helped establish the Workers’ Party, known as the Partido dos Trabalhadores in Portuguese, the language of Brazil. Six years later, he won a seat in Brazil’s National Congress. Lula and other Workers’ Party members fought to expand the rights of workers, women, and the poor. After three failed attempts to win the Brazilian presidency—in 1989, 1994, and 1998—Lula was elected in 2002. He took office in 2003. Lula became the first left-wing politician to serve as president since 1964. He also became one of Brazil’s most popular presidents.
Many people expected Lula to pursue radical reforms, including suspending payment of Brazil’s large foreign debt. However, he took a more moderate approach in seeking to improve Brazil’s economy and government. Lula was reelected in 2006. During his presidency, Brazil’s economy and middle class grew and poverty decreased. Because of term limits, Lula could not run in Brazil’s 2010 presidential election. Dilma Rousseff succeeded him in 2011 as Brazil’s first woman president.
Beginning in 2016, Lula faced several charges of corruption. Some of the charges were linked to a corruption scandal at the national oil firm, Petrobras, that involved many prominent Workers’ Party politicians. In 2017, Lula was convicted of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 12 years in prison. In 2021, a Supreme Court judge overturned Lula’s convictions, claiming the court that tried him did not have jurisdiction (legal authority to decide the case).
Lula was reelected as president of Brazil in October 2022 and took office in January 2023. He defeated President Jair Bolsonaro, who was running for a second term.
