Bolsonaro during a trip to the northeast — the region where he is the least popular. Photo: Alan Santos/PR
When the Brazilian Supreme Court quashed all convictions against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and reinstated his political rights, it kicked off the 2022 presidential race some 19 months before ballots are cast. The return of a popular and polarizing politician to the Brazilian electoral milieu comes as the government faces a delicate mix of rising inflation, threats of strikes, a ferocious coronavirus outbreak, and the lingering absence of a cash-transfer policy to aid vulnerable families.
To make matters worse for the Bolsonaro administration, Lula appears to be channeling his 2002 “Peace and Love” persona, making nods to conservative sectors, supporting a science-based approach to the pandemic, and generally sounding “presidential.” It was a throwback to the conciliatory, seductive character that led Brazil between 2003 and 2010, before leaving office as the most popular president in the country’s history.
Lula’s return to the action appears to shatter the conservative maxim that his rejection rates would make him an ideal adversary for any candidate in the 2022 election. Recent polls suggest that the former president has even more voting potential than the incumbent.
Recent polls show...
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