The hunt for Lula marks a country in turmoil.

By Teresa Cruvinel

The day began filled with news of the "end of the world" in a naturally beautiful tropical country, but now marked by intolerance and increasingly divided by the "us versus them" divide. Photos of physical confrontations at the ABI (Brazilian Press Association) during a demonstration in defense of Petrobras, and of former minister Guido Mantega being expelled from a hospital by agitated individuals, are merely emblematic of what is happening in the broadest sphere of society, where political issues divide even families. Meanwhile, the country's assets continue to erode.

In yesterday's event, Lula did the same thing he did in 2005, when the movement for his impeachment grew: he warned that he would not kill himself like Getúlio Vargas, would not resign like Jânio Quadros, would not be deposed like João Goulart, nor would he suffer impeachment like Collor. He would call the people from house to house to defend the popular will that gave him the mandate. And he did so because he knows that, more than Dilma's impeachment, they are seeking his ineligibility in 2018. This is what summarizes his defiant statement yesterday: "The most important legacy my mother left me was the right to walk with my head held high, and nobody will make me lower my head in this country. Honesty is not a merit, it's an obligation. I want peace and democracy, but if they want war, I know how to fight too."

Lula knew, a few days ago, that the Lava Jato Operation investigations were targeting works in the electricity sector. This is precisely because most of the contracts with construction companies for the large hydroelectric plants in the north of the country were signed during his administration. With the discovery of irregularities in these contracts, he could be held responsible and, if convicted, would be ineligible for office. Today, news is circulating that the plea bargain agreements being negotiated between the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Paraná and the imprisoned construction company executives may include the electricity sector. They have been resisting, says columnist Monica Bérgamo of Folha de S.Paulo, but the pressure from the prosecutors is great. And at this point, all they want "is to put an end to the situation they are in," in Judge Moro's cells.

Almost all the major construction companies participate in the consortia formed to carry out those monumental projects, such as the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant and those of Jirau and Madeira. Belo Monte is the first target of the investigations.

To "get Lula," a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) into the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) is also being orchestrated in the Senate. Yesterday, some opposition deputies spoke out against the financing of projects in Cuba, Mozambique, Angola, Ecuador, Argentina, and other countries. In truth, the BNDES shouldn't even be financing projects in foreign countries. What it did was provide financial support to Brazilian companies contracted for projects like the Mariel port in Cuba, on the condition that all inputs be purchased from Brazilian industries, generating employment and income within the country. The desired CPI into the BNDES aims to investigate these financings and the role Lula played in contracting such projects when he was president, with his active presidential diplomacy.

Making Lula ineligible, for the opposition forces, is the surest shortcut to a change in power in 2018. If Dilma stays, with the government surrounded and immobilized, she will end up like a lame duck, unable to influence the succession. And if Lula is out of the race, it will be a piece of cake.

A game is a game, even in politics. But the limit of power games is the collective interest. If winning requires destroying the country's assets, such as Petrobras, construction companies, and their associates, it ceases to be a game and becomes war. And in wars, the people always lose.