As news of Lula’s victory spread, a sea of red – the colors of his Workers’ Party – converged on São Paulo’s main street, Paulista Avenue, eager for a glimpse of the president-elect.
“Lola is back,” chanted the crowd, as they released red smoke in celebration.
“It was a very difficult campaign,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva admitted to the crowd a few hours later. “It was not Lula against Bolsonaro, it was a campaign for democracy against brutality.”
Love him or hate him, the fact that Lula, once Brazil’s most popular politician, is returning to high office is a moment in history.
“I feel liberated, relieved, not only for the people of Brazil, but for the whole planet — for the Amazon, for democracy, for human rights,” admits Viridiana Alexo, 47. Brazil is very divided. “We have to be very patient, and we have to leave anger and hatred behind.”
Twenty years ago, Lula came to power promising sweeping change – but corruption scandals have left him ineligible to run for office in 2018. Before his charges were overturned, he remained in prison. It’s been quite a journey for Lola, but he’s back with a vengeance.
“I went through a political apocalypse, because they tried to bury me alive,” Lula said. “From the first of January there won’t be two Brazils, we are one – we don’t want to fight anymore, it’s time to lay down our arms that have never been raised before.”
But uniting Brazil will be Lula’s biggest challenge.
On Sunday, 24-year-old Felipe Fonte went to vote wearing a Brazilian soccer shirt, the color associated with Brazil’s far-right.
“I think [President Jair] Bolsonaro has many flaws, but he is a man of God,” says Felipe. “He has the right principles, and he’s not the biggest thief ever in Brazil. So that’s the biggest thing for me.”
Although Lola officially took over in the new year, her job begins now – trying to win over people like Felipe.
