Unable to contact the outside world for almost one year, forced into silence in the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva still makes an impact on the lives of many Brazilians. At 73 years of age, the former president has never stopped inspiring feelings and opposing opinions. On one side are those who acknowledge that great part of the population benefited from his policies or felt firsthand how their living conditions improved during his two terms in office. On the opposite side are those who echo a story according to which Lula was a setback for the country, trying to tarnish his image at all cost.

While this is a constant narrative in the ex-president’s political life, he is undeniably a huge part of the country’s history. Many are the reasons why Lula is not forgotten by the people and is always under the spotlight of the media. Campaigns, political rallies, legal cases, police investigations, and sharp public speeches. These are the images that usually emerge when Lula is the topic. Throughout his life, the image of a man who lives and breathes politics often outshines Lula as a father and grandfather figure. But subjectivities, religious beliefs, and opinions – the basic pillars holding up every political man’s formation – make him human like everyone else.

His first public appearance after he was imprisoned was at the cremation ceremony of his grandson Arthur Lula da Silva, who died at age seven with hospital-acquired infection. A federal court allowed the ex-president to attend the ceremony.

As he walked out of the police car into the cremation room, supporters and journalists were able to see him for a few seconds. He languashingly waved, not hiding the pain of a grandparent who had just tragically lost a grandchild. “I have never seen my dad so sad in my whole life. Ever,” said Lurian Lula da Silva, his eldest daughter. “He said it was not fair, that it was not the natural order of things, that those who are older should go first, that he could not understand. He told Arthur to wait for him in heaven, that he would bring the documents proving his innocence to him.”

Lula was allowed only one hour and thirty minutes to mourn with his family. “It was not enough. He had been in prison for almost a year, away from his family. Away from his grandson’s daily life,” Lurian said.

Not only was the ex-president deprived of freedom while his case was still pending appeal in higher courts, this is the third time he lost a family member in three years. In February 2017, almost a year after judge Sérgio Moro compelled him to testify, his wife Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva died from a stroke. In January this year, he was not allowed to attend the funeral of his older brother, 79-year-old Genival Inácio da Silva, who died of lung cancer.

“He resists for those who have gone and for those who are still here,” Lurian said. She says she doesn’t know how her father manages to stay strong to fight for his freedom and to bring back a different project for society. “Everyone says, ‘Lurian, be strong, because he is big.’ And he really is. A person like him – as a man, a parent, a politician – only comes around once in one hundred years. He has survived everything. He has survived poverty, famine, discrimination, persecution, dictatorship. There is something about him, and the entire Silva family, that he tries to keep his spirits up in times of pain to be able to resist,” his eldest daughter says.

Historical photos of Lula are always crowded, full of people hugging him. He has an undeniable ability to communicate with the people. After he was arrested and deprived of contacting his family and the people, he found a way to express himself about what is happening in Brazil through letters and notes, writing to keep standing up for what he believes. “He has always been on the side of the people,” says Paulo Okamotto, president of the institute named after the former president. “He knows he is beloved and appreciated by workers. And that helps him stay composed to endure hardships in life. That’s what has been keeping him strong.”

Okamotto also says that “the last few years have been a long ordeal for Lula,” whom he says “knows the Brazilian people deeply.” “Anyone who has met Lula and talked to him could see how he treats people, how much he cares, how much he loves, because he is a one-of-a-kind politician. He does politics with a capital ‘P.’ The legacy Lula has created and still creates comes from what he does,” Okamotto argues.

Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s successor in the presidential office, says the Workers’ Party leader was underestimated by the elite, who never really accepted how a retirante nordestino, a poor migrant from the dry backlands of Brazil, could have such huge political ability and receive public acclaim. “I had the opportunity and the honor to witness Lula’s leadership be recognized many times, the applauses and excited praise he received in meetings abroad. When they realized how big Lula was, the Brazilian elite turned its disdain into a dangerous mix of hatred and fear.”

Rousseff, who was tortured during the Brazilian military dictatorship, says that while Lula is also enduring a kind of torture, as he is being held in solitary confinement, separated from the people, those violations are actually what push his resistance. “The distress, the injustice, and the torture actually make the will to fight and survive grow inside of us, so we can overcome and defeat our persecutors. Not through strength, but through the high road we’ve taken, showing that, as we stayed alive, holding our head up high, staying sane, and keeping our principles strong as we know we are on the right side of history. That’s exactly Lula’s case,” she says. “He knows that, in that little cubicle he was thrown in, he is with millions of Brazilian men and women who love him. People who admire him, and people who know that, in this historical moment, without him, the country will keep crumbling down.”

Opinions about Lula abound. And even those who criticize him don’t have enough arguments to deny that Brazil’s history many times goes hand in hand with Lula’s own story. “He is the son of Mrs. Lindu. He persists, resists, he knows he will fight until the end, and he will leave that place an innocent man,” his daughter Lurian affirms.

Edition: Anelize Moreira | Translated by Aline Scátola

Lula writes letter on 1st Anniversary of Imprisonment: “Exiled in my own country”

On the day that marks one year since the former president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was arrested, he wrote a letter to the Brazilians who support him. The message was originally published on the website of the Workers’ Party (PT).

Read an English version of Lula’s letter below.

“Dear friends, relentless comrades in struggle,

Exactly one year ago today, I was arrested for the crime of dedicating a lifetime to building a more just, developed, and sovereign Brazil. They stopped me from running for president, to prevent me from once again walking up the ramp to the presidential palace, pushed by the arms of each and everyone of you, so that together we could reverse the dismantling of the Brazilian state that my captors are promoting.

I have been confined alone in a prison cell in Curitiba for exactly one year. They have never produced one piece of evidence against me. I am a political prisoner, exiled in my own country. Separated from the Brazilian people, my family, and my dearest friends. Forbidden to give interviews, prevented from speaking and being heard.

They thought that this long imposed silence would smother my voice forever. But it did not, and it never will. Because we are millions of voices.

For exactly one year, every day I have been embraced by the heartfelt “good-morning” and “good-night, mr. president Lula” chants that the brave members of one of the longest vigils in history sing, and also by the solidarity that comes from all over Brazil and even the world.

For exactly one year, my rivals have been looking for a reason to celebrate, but they cannot find it.

We have suffered repeated setbacks since the coup against President Dilma, it is true. But our defeats strengthen us for the fight, while their victories do not give them a minute of peace.

They are becoming increasingly rich, but the fortune that comes at the expense of the suffering of millions of Brazilians does not bring them happiness. They are becoming more and more angry and unhappy, poisoned by the very hatred they distill.

During the funeral of my grandson Arthur, Brazil was taken aback by the huge and unnecessary repressive operation mounted against me. Police cars, helicopters, heavily armed military officers. All that to prevent me from even waving at the people who expressed their solidarity to a grieving grandfather.

That was when I realized that it is not Lula who they fear.

They fear the millions of Lulas. Because they know what we are capable of when we unite to transform this country.

We are alive and strong. Together, let’s reverse each setback, each step back on the hard journey towards the Brazil that we dream of and that we have proved to be possible to build. We will win.

Love, and forward to victory!

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva”

*Translated with TeleSur

Edition: Aline Carrijo
Brasil de Fato