China News Service, Beijing, October 31 (Zhang Naiyue) On October 30, local time, as confirmed by Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court, Brazilian Labor Party candidate Lula won the general election.
The 77-year-old Brazilian political veteran will officially usher in his third presidential term on January 1, 2023.
Data map: Lula.
Twice in power and once in jail,
Political career ups and downs
Lula was born into a poor family in the northeastern region of Brazil, with only a primary school education, worked as a carmaker, and once led the labor movement against the dictatorship of the military government.
He founded the Brazilian Labor Party in 1980 and took office for the first time in January 2003, becoming the first leftist president to be directly elected to power in Brazil's history.
In 2007, Lula was re-elected.
During his eight-year tenure, Lula implemented "Zero Hunger" and "Family Grants" and other livelihood programs, reducing Brazil's poverty population by more than 50%.
By the time he left office in 2011, he had more than 80 percent approval.
However, the political career of this worker leader who once created the "miracle" of Brazil's rapid economic development and is known as the "son of Brazil" was not smooth sailing.
After Lula stepped down as president, in 2014, the Brazilian judiciary launched a large-scale anti-corruption investigation called Operation Car Wash.
In 2017, Lula was convicted in a first-instance verdict of corruption and money-laundering in the residential case in the seaside city of Guaruja.
After Lula was sentenced, many supporters took to the streets to protest, believing that the ruling was a "political decision" aimed at preventing Lula from running for president.
Lula was jailed for a time between 2018 and 2019, but in 2021 his guilty verdict was quashed.
Lula, who has regained his "freedom", has won the right to participate in Brazil's presidential election in 2022.
He who created economic miracles,
Can we "rebuild Brazil"?
On May 7 this year, in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, Lula announced his candidacy to supporters on the spot and delivered a speech saying "I am back" and "will rebuild Brazil."
Data map: Lula.
More than five months later, after two rounds of presidential contests, Lula finally won.
During Lula's previous administration, Brazil's economy grew at an average annual rate of 4.3%, making it the seventh-largest economy in the world.
This has won him a lot of prestige, and many people hope that Lula will lead Brazil to glory again.
However, some analysts pointed out that the current economic situation in Brazil is very different from that of more than a decade ago.
Bruno Brandon, executive director of Brazil's anti-corruption organization Transparency International, said that after years of recession and erratic growth, jobs, incomes and inflation are topics of particular concern for Brazilians.
When he was in power before, the Labor Party led by Lula advocated the protection of labor rights and fair distribution of social wealth.
At present, narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, easing inflation, building broad alliances, and uniting "deeply divided" countries are also his priorities.
In addition to the economy, the focus of the outside world also falls on environmental protection. After all, the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rain forest in the world, is located in Brazil.
Previously, foreign media had predicted that the outcome of the Brazilian election could decide the fate of Amazon.
When Lula took office in 2003, the rainforest had near-record levels of deforestation, and by 2010, his final year in office, deforestation had fallen by 72 percent.
On September 17, 2022, a fire broke out near a logging area in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
And, in recent years, policies under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have significantly weakened the protection of the rainforest, and its damage has increased again.
This also makes Lula's claim to "save the Amazon rainforest and make Brazil a leader in global climate negotiations" highly anticipated.
In the previous presidency, Lula has shown a very active diplomatic stance.
He has played a role in the Iranian nuclear negotiations and has also actively participated in international climate negotiations.
During the campaign, Lula promised to strengthen the cooperation mechanism among Latin American countries, proposed to deepen cooperation among the BRICS countries, and strive to improve Brazil's status on the world stage.
However, after the world has experienced the new crown epidemic, the sudden change of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, and the energy crisis, the international situation has undergone profound changes.
Lula, who is in power again, will face a severe test.
In addition, Lula suffered from throat cancer in 2011, and recovered after several months of treatment.
Now 77 years old, his health has also attracted attention from the outside world.
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