ABSTRACT
Three years after leaving prison, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to the Brazilian presidency for a third term, defeating right-wing extremist Jair Bolsonaro with a margin of 2.2M votes, the smallest in Brazilian history. Now 77 years old, Lula da Silva has become a more controlling and cautious politician than in 2010, when he left office with record-setting popularity numbers. However, the changes Brazilian society went through were even more significant: forget about the myth of a lively country where football and carnival are remedies capable of turning sorrows into joy. Instead, Brazil today is a polarised nation, divided into “Lulistas” and “Bolsonaristas” who disagree on almost everything, with some even doubting if Brazil should remain a democracy. Lula tries to reclaim his place in history in an unknown and challenging environment.
