Lula, the only plan for Brazil

August has arrived and Lula remains imprisoned. Despite the right wing believing that a lie repeated 100 times becomes the truth, the question remains unanswered: For what crime is Lula imprisoned?

Accused without evidence, the greatest president in Brazilian history remains in prison, while, outside the bars, the crowd clamoring for his freedom and guaranteeing him their vote grows rapidly. And therein lies the problem – or the solution: the vote.

After orchestrating a political-legal-media coup, based on the sensationalism of a mercenary press, the Brazilian aristocracy would not accept returning the power they usurped. At least, not without a fight. Nobody imagined that the leaders and bosses would agree to the restoration of democracy, much less that the country would be returned to its rightful owner: the people. So, all that remained for them was to stop Lula.

During the 13 years of progressive government implemented by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva starting in 2003, the nation saw improvements in various social indicators. The illiteracy rate fell and life expectancy increased. Economic and social inequalities decreased, and people who previously lacked opportunities emerged from invisibility and gained access to higher education, consumer goods, and leisure. Job opportunities expanded. Brazil gained international credibility and respect, and finally, we began to feel like a sovereign nation.

Following the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in May 2016, Michel Temer seized power through the back door and imposed radical changes on the Brazilian state. Within months, he set the country back centuries in labor and social rights, and it wasn't long before unemployment reached record levels.

The approval of the Public Spending Cap Amendment – ​​which imposes a freeze on the budget for two decades – and the labor and pension reforms caused the coup government to plummet to the lowest popularity ratings ever recorded in Brazilian politics. And all the rhetoric about fighting corruption crumbled when Temer himself was indicted in 2017 and became the first president to face criminal charges while in office.

Given this scenario, what would prevent Lula from resuming the presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil? Nothing, and the polls consistently reinforce this. So, the coup's last card would be to stop the Workers' Party leader. But how? They found a way.

Thanks to a circus orchestrated by the Brazilian judiciary in collusion with the coup-mongering media, Lula was imprisoned without evidence and he became a hero. Or, as Lula himself said in his historic speech in São Bernardo do Campo, he became an "idea." An idea that has permeated the minds and hearts of millions of Brazilians. And now, right wing?

What to do when, even imprisoned, Lula rises in the polls and appears to be elected in the first round? How does one stop an idea? The answer is simple: it doesn't stop.

That's why we don't have a plan B. Because Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – our only plan – can indeed be a candidate and will be elected president of Brazil in the October 2018 elections. This is a fact, and not even the coup plotters doubt it.