Where is Brazil headed with Lula?

It's clear where Brazil comes from. Bolsonarism represented the worst moments the country has experienced since the military dictatorship. It wasn't just a time of destruction of the existing democracy; it was a time of re-establishment of neoliberalism in its most radical form.

The most brutal moment was when Bolsonaro was the president of Brazil and Lula was in prison. There couldn't have been a situation where things were more out of place.

In a minimally normal election, Lula won and returned to the presidency of Brazil. In his first month in office, the country regained a climate of political harmony, hope that the economy would grow again, and that the basic rights of the people would be met.

Domestically, Lula faces the need to resume economic growth without succumbing to inflation. Media pressure is focused on the specter of inflation, attempting to hinder the fulfillment of the population's needs, which is essential for resuming economic growth.

They are trying to trap Lula into the pitfalls of neoliberalism: either economic growth with inflation and uncontrolled public spending, or economic recession. Big business owners are accelerating price increases, and the media is creating a climate in which Lula would be trapped in the typical neoliberal dilemma.

Inflation of 6%, by the standards Brazil has become accustomed to, is considered unbearable by the media, pressuring Lula to fall into this trap. At the same time, they believe that low economic growth would be an insurmountable obstacle for Lula to achieve the goals with which his government has always been identified: improving the living conditions of the population.

Politically, Lula managed to expand his support base, which allowed him to have a sufficient majority to approve the tax reform – the government's first major test in Congress. Caring for the population affected by the rains on the northern coast of São Paulo province allowed everyone to perceive the difference between Lula's government and the previous one. While Bolsonaro, when a similar disaster occurred, stayed on a jet ski, Lula immediately suspended his vacation in Bahia to visit the affected areas, in addition to mobilizing resources to support the population, and putting his entire government to work on various support programs.

In international politics, the prestige Lula has acquired has led to pressure from various countries for Brazil to get involved in the war in Ukraine. Zelensky insists that Lula go to Ukraine to show him the damage caused by Russia in the country. John Kerry came to Brazil to pressure Brazil to send weapons to Ukraine.

Lula had already defined Brazil's position at the beginning of the conflict. The country condemns the Russian invasion, but focuses its efforts on seeking conditions for the restoration of peace. Brazil refuses to send weapons, which would mean participating in the war instead of seeking peace.

Lula proposed the formation of a Peace Group, with the participation of China and India, among other countries, to negotiate peace terms. Lula responded to John Kerry that Brazil condemns Russia, but also condemns NATO. And that he seeks a discourse that allows Russia to participate in negotiations to pacify the conflict. That Brazil will not send weapons, which would mean participating in the war instead of trying to end it.

In his second month in office, Lula re-established the presence of a legitimate government, with a president attentive to all the country's problems, possessing political authority, and engaging in dialogue with virtually all sectors of the political spectrum.

It is still too early to judge Lula's performance in addressing the serious problems inherited from the six worst years in Brazil's history this century. But the political climate is already radically different. There is a government, there is a president with prestige, Brazil's image in the world has recovered, along with its presence.

The strengthening of the BRICS, parallel to the mobilization of Latin American governments – especially Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia – projects Brazil as an important protagonist in the contemporary world. This resurgence makes Lula's Brazil once again a significant topic in the contemporary world.