LULA'S NIGHTMARE: From hero to zero

In 2003, after a very convincing victory, a left-wing president took office in Brazil for the first time in more than 40 years. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became the third democratically elected president after two decades of a military dictatorship which bankrupted Brazilian economy and led the country to an abyss of relentless inflation and economic crises.  Da Silva came from humble beginnings, became a trade union activist and founded the Brazilian Worker's Party in the 80's . After losing three elections in a row, Da Silva, popularly known as Lula, abandoned his past left-wing radicalism and formed alliances with business leaders and a small right-wing party, which convinced investors and electors that his government wouldn't change the successful economic program of his predecessor, the centrist Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who had controlled the inflation and set the ground for a promising economic future. His campaign strategy was right. Da Silva, however, did not abandon his populist roots during his crusade to the Presidency. He explicitly promised to eradicate hunger, strengthen Brazilian economy and put an end to Brazilian ruthless and persistent corruption. He succeed in only two of those promises.

Economically, during his government, Brazil grew to levels never seen before and became one of the most preeminent markets in the world. Following the lead of Cardoso's administration, Lula renewed all agreements with the International Monetary Fund, achieved a satisfactory primary budget surplus and managed to pay off Brazilian debt to the IMF in full. His government's choice of inflation targeting kept the economy stable and gained the market's confidence. Both Fitch ratings and Standard & Poor's (S&P)  elevated the classification of Brazilian debt from speculative to investment grade, Banks had a record profit and Brazil became the world's eighth-largest economy. Socially, owing to a successful welfare program implemented personally by him, hunger was eradicated, innumerous jobs were created, expensive economic goods were popularized and twenty million were brought from abject poverty to the middle class. Lula's popularity skyrocketed and he became the most popular politician in Brazilian recent history.

Da Silva, however, failed to keep his last promise. An unprecedented corruption scandal shook his administration.  His party was publicly accused of bribing congressmen in order to pass important laws for the government.  Da Silva's undisputed Biography and the good reputation of his party shattered as unquestionable proofs were unveiled on TV. Explicit corruption videos had been recorded by undercover journalists,  igniting an unprecedented political crisis, the "Mensalão". Lula, surprisingly, managed to get away from the scandal, claiming he had no idea that his ministers and personal counselors had implemented a corruption system in his government. No formal charges were presented against Lula, however, most of his ministers and counselors involved in the corruption scandal, such as José Dirceu, Delúbio Soares and José Genoino, had to resign and later ended up in jail after a long trial on the Brazilian Supreme Court.

The Workers' Party, a party Lula himself founded, became a synonym of corruption and dishonesty. Amazingly, Lula managed to keep his popularity high, mostly due to an overwhelming economic and social growth,  which was more than enough to get him re-elected for a second term as successful as his first.  Lula even was able to elect a successor, Dilma Rousseff, his former Chief of Staff, who granted another term for the Worker's Party in the presidency in 2010.

Initially, Rousseff did well. Kept the economy growing and expanding social programs. However,   in order to get re-elected in 2014, her administration spent more than it could in a lengthy populist agenda and carefully hid a gigantic government debt from the public.  After a challenging re-election, Rousseff finally revealed the real economic scenario of her administration, which triggered a massive national financial crisis. Brazilian currency was destabilized, unemployment skyrocketed, inflation reached alarming rates and Fitch and S&P downgraded Brazilian grade and the country lost its investment rating. Rousseff's popularity consequently hit rock bottom; only 9% currently approve her administration. Worsening her situation, a new corruption scandal emerged as the Brazilian Federal Police disclosed an unparalleled bribery system at Petrobras, a state-owned Petroleum Corporation. Rousseff was part of the board of directors of Petrobras during the graft that might have embezzled more than US$ 20 billion dollars. The scandal had hit once again the core of the Workers' Party and their most important politicians and leaders, placing the president at the core of what may be the largest corruption scandal in Brazilian history. Rousseff adopted a very similar strategy that Lula had once adopted, denied involvement and any prior knowledge of the scheme. This time Brazilians were not convinced. Although no evidence  were presented that Rousseff herself had been involved in the scheme, demonstrators protested during every national presidential address on TV by banging  pots and pans; thousands camped in Brasilia, the nation's capital, in a vigil that demanded her prosecution and millions later took the streets in March calling for Rousseff's impeachment. The protests worked. The impeachment process was initiated on 2 December by Rousseff’s political enemy, Eduardo Cunha, the speaker of the lower house. Cunha did not accept the allegations of her involvement at the Petrobras scandal, but did accept the unquestionable accusation that she had violated budget laws in order to increase spending during her re-election campaign. The congress has not yet decided Roussef's fate but the future of Workers' Party and its leader, Lula, is certainly and indubitably ruined.

Brazilian Federal Police have arrested the treasurer of the Party (João Vaccari), the head senator of the Party in the congress (Delcidio do Amaral) and several chief executive officers of Petrobras. Not even Lula was able to get away this time. The Federal Police is currently investigating him, his family and his close friends. Sons of Lula, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva and Luis Cláudio Lula da Silva, are presently under scrutiny in regards to suspicious contracts that might indicate a money laundering scheme used in order to finance Worker's Party campaigns. The Federal Police have also arrested Lula's personal friend and counselor, José Carlos Bumlai, accused of embezzling money for the Party. For the first time, Lula is personally involved in a  corruption scandal that might cost his own survival. Lula lost his credibility and popular support. Once loved and cherished by many, Lula is now loathed and despised by most of his previous supporters. Lula is in a never-ending void, alone and constantly afraid of incarceration. Once believed to be a mythical heroic figure, Lula became a villain, a symbol of ruthless politics, someone capable of almost anything in the name of power.