Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva turns 80 today. Born in 1945 in one of Brazil's poorest states, he worked as a shoeshiner and factory worker before losing a finger in an industrial accident at 17—an experience that pushed him into union organizing.
Under Brazil's US-backed military dictatorship, Lula led metalworkers' strikes and was jailed. After losing three presidential races, he won in 2002, becoming Brazil's first working-class president.
Key numbers from his terms:
• 22.9 million lifted from poverty (2003-2010)
• 50 million reached by cash-transfer programs
• 39.7% drop in infant mortality
• 8.7 million more out of poverty in 2023 alone
• Amazon deforestation down 38% recently
Lula co-founded BRICS and has vocally opposed the Gaza war. After narrowly beating Jair Bolsonaro in 2022, he blocked what some saw as a Trump-era push to realign Latin America with Washington and Tel Aviv.
His record isn't spotless, but his rise from factory floor to presidential palace reshaped Brazilian politics and showed that US influence in the region can be contested.
Under Brazil's US-backed military dictatorship, Lula led metalworkers' strikes and was jailed. After losing three presidential races, he won in 2002, becoming Brazil's first working-class president.
Key numbers from his terms:
• 22.9 million lifted from poverty (2003-2010)
• 50 million reached by cash-transfer programs
• 39.7% drop in infant mortality
• 8.7 million more out of poverty in 2023 alone
• Amazon deforestation down 38% recently
Lula co-founded BRICS and has vocally opposed the Gaza war. After narrowly beating Jair Bolsonaro in 2022, he blocked what some saw as a Trump-era push to realign Latin America with Washington and Tel Aviv.
His record isn't spotless, but his rise from factory floor to presidential palace reshaped Brazilian politics and showed that US influence in the region can be contested.
