Lula is free. What happens now in Brazil?

After 580 days, Lula is free.

The former president who left office in 2010 as the most popular politician in Brazilian history was barred from taking part in the 2018 elections thanks to his legal situation, even though polls indicated he was the favored candidate. Without Lula, his center-left Workers’ Party lost most of its mojo, falling into near-irrelevance in the Brazil of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

The clock flashed 5:43 pm when Lula left the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba. He was one of the roughly 5,000 convicted felons who benefited from Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling to prevent prison sentences from being enforced before all appeal routes are exhausted.

Out of jail, Lula plans to revive the opposition against Mr. Bolsonaro, lead his party in the 2020 municipal elections, and pass the torch to someone in his party to run in 2022. Despite being at liberty, Lula still has an appeals court conviction against his name, making him ineligible for public office.

Lula’s first words out of prison

Welcomed by hundreds of militants, Lula delivered a short, yet highly characteristic speech. He claimed former São Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad—who ran for president as a stand-in after Lula was barred from standing as a candidate—would have beaten Mr. Bolsonaro last year “if the election hadn’t been stolen.”

Despite saying his heart “only has room for love,” Lula had plenty of vitriol for members of the Justice system, and of the Federal Prosecution Office, saying that a “rotten group” is trying to criminalize the left with “treachery” and “villainy.” Lula also bashed TV Globo—a point at which he converges with Jair Bolsonaro—Justice Minister Sergio Moro, and Federal Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, who were both leading figures of Operation Car Wash...