Today: The Lula effect on Jair Bolsonaro. A new pandemic landmark. And how Brazil plans to keep Huawei 5G at arm’s length.
How Lula is already changing the political game
In his first public appearance since regaining his political rights, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave a stump speech in all but name. He talked about the country’s lack of direction under President Jair Bolsonaro, before gesturing to the Armed Forces and military police — all after defending vaccines, social distancing, and the use of face masks. “If you get to discuss Brazil’s problems with conservative sectors as well,” he said, “extraordinary things can happen.”
- It is worth noting that Lula veered away from calling Mr. Bolsonaro a threat to democracy, a drum the left has beaten to exhaustion since 2018 to no avail. Instead, Lula focused on the population’s pressing needs: how Brazilian workers are no longer guaranteed to have “bread and butter” on their breakfast tables, and how the country is hemorrhaging jobs.
New game? While this is only one speech, it may indicate the center-left Workers’ Party is pivoting toward a platform that rings true for everyday people: they have to make voters believe they can...