O Lula government corresponded to the period that began on January 1, 2003, when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took over the presidency of Brazil, and ended on January 1, 2011, when the presidency was transmitted to Dilma Rousseff. Lula's government was marked by a period of intense economic growth in Brazil, but its credibility was shaken by corruption scandals, such as the Mensalão,
Background
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became president of Brazil after winning the presidential election that was held in 2002, when he defeated PSDB candidate José Serra in the second round. Lula won approximately 61% of the votes. The victory in the 2002 election marked the peak of Lula's political career and ended a series of defeats by that politician in presidential disputes.
Lula ran for president of Brazil in the electoral cycles held in 1989, 1994 and 1998 and was defeated by Fernando Collor and Fernando Henrique Cardoso (lost twice to this PSDB politician). Lula's political trajectory was closely linked to the union movements that emerged in the ABC region, at the turn of the 1970s to the 1980s, during the
Military dictatorship.THE Lula's victory in the 2002 election it was the result of the loss of prestige of the FHC government and is also understood by historian Boris Fausto as "the result of the democratization of Brazilian politics and society"|1|. In any case, Lula's candidacy and victory were viewed with great suspicion by many groups in Brazilian society, especially the financial market.
Lula's candidacy and victory were also marked by a softening in the political speech of both Lula. how much of the PT itself in comparison to the origins of this party and its performance, especially at the end of the 1980. This was made noticeable, according to historians, by Lula's demand to the PT to build alliances outside the political field of the left.
Lula government's economic policy
In the economic field, Lula's government, especially in his first term, put into practice an economic policy that brought positive results for Brazil in different aspects. O inflation control and the guarantee of Real stability they were focuses of the Lula government, as the great fear, especially in the financial market, was that the Lula government would not be able to control these indexes.
Thus, on the issue of inflation, the Lula government began its mandate with an inflation rate of 12.53%, inherited from the FHC government. In 2006, inflation had reached 3.14%, and Lula ended his government with high inflation, closing at 5.90% |2|. Other economic indices of the Lula administration were also positive, such as GDP growth. This was largely due to the economic growth of countries like China, which became Brazil's main economic partner.
During the years of the Lula government, the Brazilian GDP had a 4% average growth per year |3|. This scenario of economic growth, as mentioned, was anchored, above all, in the growth of exports of raw materials and commodities from Brazil to fast-growing nations such as China.
To get an idea of the growth of China's participation in the Brazilian economy, in 2017 data disclosed by the government, the three main export products of Brazil had as the main buyer the China|4|:
Soybeans: accounted for 78.97% of all exports from Brazil;
Iron ores: accounted for 54.13% of all exports from Brazil;
Oil: was responsible for 44.22% of all exports from Brazil.
The strengthening of our economy during this period (2003-2007) was largely responsible for the impact of 2008 economic crisis have been reduced in Brazil compared to the international scenario. Impacts on the economy were felt in GDP, for example. These impacts were no longer sudden because the government took measures that encouraged domestic consumption.
Other issues directly related to the economy that had positive results during the Lula's government were the creation of jobs and the improvement of the economic condition of a large part of the population. In this regard, the creation of about 10 million jobs stands out. |5| formal, in addition to the growth of class C, which was directly linked to the growth of the minimum wage in the period of about 60% (the data takes into account the period 2000-2013) |6| and with the increase in the availability of credit.
Corruption cases
The positive image of the Lula government, cultivated from the successful economic policy and a foreign policy that placed Brazil in position of international prestige, was strongly shaken by cases of corruption involving people directly linked to the political base of the government. Different accusations took place over the years of Lula's mandate and, of all the scandals, the one that most resonated was known as monthly and broke out in 2005.
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The corruption scandals during Lula's government brought strong criticism to the PT, whether from groups on the right and perceived as opponents, or from groups linked to the left. Criticisms of the Lula government and of the PT itself recalled the PT discourse during the 1990s, in which the party was intensely defending ethics in politics. However, the large number of accusations and the proof of some of them showed that this defense of ethics in politics did not happen when they took over the power of Brazil.
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The Mensalão consisted basically of the scandal in which members of the top government made the purchase of parliamentarians from Box 2 to support in the Legislative the agendas of interest of the government.
The scheme was denounced by Roberto Jefferson and severely eroded Lula's image, who saw his approval drop considerably in the run-up to the presidential elections. The investigations unraveled a complex corruption scheme that involved several people, and the result of the scandal led to a considerable part of Lula's top government being incriminated. The main target of the prosecution at the time was the minister of the Civil House, JosephDirceu.
The indictment of Dirceu resulted in his mandate being revoked in 2005 and, in 2006, he was denounced with around forty people for his involvement in the Mensalão. Dirceu's trial went on for years, and in 2016 he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for passive corruption, conspiracy and money laundering.
Regarding the government's defense strategy when this scandal broke out and its impact on Lula's popularity, it is worth highlighting the following speech by historian Boris Fausto:
The government's defense strategy took place on two fronts. On the political front, it consisted in denying the existence of a vote-buying scheme in Congress, concentrating blame and responsibilities on the treasurer of the party and to characterize the accusations as coup orchestration of an elite dissatisfied with the success of a worker in the presidency of the Republic. Lula, according to the official speech, knew nothing about the supposed scheme.
[…] The government won the political battle. The opposition decided not to fight for the removal of the president, fearful of betting on political polarization and losing, and afraid of the long-term effects, for democratic coexistence, of a possible division in the middle of society Brazilian. He imagined that he would be able to wear down Lula until the October 2006 elections.
It is true that the president suffered a significant drop in his popularity throughout 2005. It, however, did not spread beyond the higher income and education sectors and proved to be transitory. When the electoral race began at the end of the first half of 2006, the president had already regained his lost popularity and was emerging as a clear favorite to his own succession. |7|.
Other considerations
The Lula government also carried out actions in other areas of Brazil, such as social issues, expanding the income distribution programs that had been created during FHC's government. The Lula government also concentrated actions in the field of foreign policy, seeking, without success, for example, to obtain a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
Finally, during the end of his government, Lula, taking advantage of his good popularity, launched Dilma Rousseff as a candidate for succession. Dilma's candidacy, in addition to having the prestige of the Lula government, was also strengthened when Lula negotiated a political coalition with the PMDB, which was manifested after the appointment of Michel Temer for the vice presidency.
|1| FAUSTO, Boris. History of Brazil. São Paulo: Edusp, 2013, p. 523.
|2| Inflation and public debt exploded in Brazil at the end of the Military Dictatorship. To access, click on here.
|3| Same as note 2.
|4| To access the detailed spreadsheet of Brazilian exports and imports for the aforementioned period, access this link.
|5| FAUSTO, Boris. History of Brazil. São Paulo: Edusp, 2013, p. 529.
|6| SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and STARLING, Heloísa Murgel. Brazil: A Biography. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2015, p. 503.
|7| FAUSTO, Boris. History of Brazil. São Paulo: Edusp, 2013, p. 536-37.
*Image credits: CP DC Press / Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History