Lula's imprisonment revisited.

Every great revolutionary leader went through defining moments that left their mark on their lives, on their trajectories as human beings and as political leaders.

Among many other circumstances, Lula had led the ABC strikes, which openly broke with the wage freeze, a key element of the military dictatorship. At that time, Lula was imprisoned and had to endure the death of his mother, Dona Lindu. He was allowed to visit her and attend her funeral in 1980. Because of the significant role she played in his life, it was an experience that marked Lula forever.

When we finished the fourth and final caravan across Brazil, in Rio Grande do Sul, four days after returning, Lula's arrest warrant was issued. During the long conversations on the caravans, Lula considered the possibility of being imprisoned. His references were always Gandhi and Mandela. It was clear that he was thinking about how to face the possibility of imprisonment. He referred to the long periods they spent in prison, but how they emerged to lead the victorious struggle of their people. He also mentioned Martin Luther King.

As soon as his arrest warrant was issued, everyone gathered at the Metalworkers' Union in São Bernardo do Campo, where Lula had begun his career as a union leader. The discussion was about whether Lula should turn himself in to the police or not. He made his position clear: "I will not go underground, nor into exile." The majority were against him turning himself in. The first time he tried to leave, the crowd wouldn't let him.

The following day we witnessed that painful scene of Lula surrounded by police, about to board his flight to Curitiba. Afterwards, we resumed contact with him during the 580-day Vigil. Morning, afternoon, and night, we greeted him: “Good morning, President Lula.” “Good afternoon, President Lula.” “Good night, President Lula,” he would reply, flashing the light in his cell.

When I was able to visit him, I saw the room he was in, with the bed, the television, the bookcase, and a table with chairs. As well as the patio where he could sunbathe. And the attentive police officers responsible for his custody.

As recounted in the documentary "Visit, President," he conveyed a state of mind that instilled optimism in all of us. As Leonardo Boff said when he visited him, it was he who passed on the encouragement to us, not we to him.

The documentary successfully conveys the emotion of everything he experienced. Surrounded by his closest companions, those who have always worked with him at the Lula Institute – who rightfully receive the recognition they deserve for their total dedication to him.

Lula's journey under those circumstances is duly highlighted in the documentary: Lula decided to come forward and prove his truth. The documentary portrays the 580 days and nights of his imprisonment and the Vigil, featuring the people who cared for Lula the entire time – his lawyers, Gleisi, Haddad, and Janja.

As Lula told the members of the Working Groups, he will not base his political actions on everything he has suffered. But, he added, he will never forget what he has lived through.

The giant figure of Lula gives the documentary enormous political force, even though it lacks a political framing of Lula's innocence and the brutal injustices he suffered. The role of the Judiciary itself, from the unjust conviction to the recognition, after the discrediting of Lava Jato, does not appear with due responsibility in the drama to which Lula was subjected, despite being innocent.

It's worth watching the documentary as a testament to yet another dramatic moment in Lula's life, in which he entered surrounded by police and emerged a giant, ready to return as President of Brazil next Sunday.