Lula's Caravans: The Power of Social Media and the People's Response

The caravans that former President Lula has been conducting throughout Brazil demonstrate, by their success, that the vast majority of the population, even while bombarded daily by the most sordid legal and media persecution of a political leader, yearns for his return to the leadership of the nation.

He was cheered wherever he went in the Brazilian Northeast, and the same phenomenon occurred when he toured the cities of Minas Gerais. 

To the dismay of the powerful barons of monopolized media who do everything to render the caravans invisible, the emergence of social media gave them volume and produced real-time news that reached millions of Brazilians from all corners of the country, who followed and interacted with every activity carried out.

Regardless of the methodology used, in every public opinion poll released, Lula continues to lead. Lula's strong resilience, while frightening the conservative elites, also distills the ocean of hatred and prejudice that spreads throughout the population.

Elitism doesn't understand Brazil. Perhaps if it were Miami, New York, or Paris, they would understand better. We are in a country of continental dimensions, where cultural diversity is obscured by the main television media outlets. They are surprised when the people are called upon to give their opinion.

The same phenomenon, observed in the so-called Caravans of Hope, will be replicated in the peripheries of other states in the federation.

The growing enthusiasm among the popular classes for the prospect of Lula's return in 2018, on the other hand, brings to the surface the petty greed of those who, even though a minority, consider themselves the rightful owners of the Brazilian nation. These "gentlemen" know that only a new government with a clearly democratic and popular character will be able, through the power of the people, to stop the dismantling of the national state.

 The coup perpetrated by the current occupants of the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace) is clearly inspired by imperial forces and is producing a torrent of dissatisfaction and repudiation among the vast majority of Brazilians. They remain in power in part due to intense political patronage and also due to the inaction of the Judiciary, notably the Supreme Federal Court.

The wealthy from upscale neighborhoods, the agribusiness barons, and the privileged members of the financial system make up the 3% who approve of Temer and his cronies.

The forces of backwardness are maneuvering to try and block Lula's candidacy through underhanded means. They believe that by opening a sincere and frank dialogue with the population, Lula is likely to greatly expand his support base.

The clarity with which the parliamentary coup is perceived gives us almost certainty that it was orchestrated by international forces, allied with the most rotten elements in national politics. The coup plotters, driven by the power of capital, are entrenched in the Chamber and the Senate of the Republic. These forces that support the usurper government are promoting the greatest plunder in history, sweeping away historical gains of the workers.

International banks, interested in Brazilian resources, particularly pre-salt oil, are promoting, along with conservative sectors of the state apparatus, a veritable collapse of companies, allowing the entry into our territory of large multinational trusts in heavy construction and engineering.

The blatant plunder spared neither the Amazon, considered the "lungs" of the world. Were it not for the resistance of broad sectors of organized civil society, part of this territory would have been alienated to foreign groups.

Gradually, large sectors of the population are realizing what is actually happening: even with all the protection from the mainstream media, social networks are managing to break through the blockade.

A hope is resurfacing in the hearts and minds of large segments of the Brazilian people to reverse this state of affairs: Lula's leadership, anchored in a broad program to restore social achievements and a clear commitment to national development, is the way out of the crisis.

A scenario of great struggles is looming. Let's be prepared!