Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s current president, is returning to Vila Euclides stadium in São Bernardo do Campo to launch his campaign for an upcoming election. The venue holds historical significance as the site of major metalworker strikes in 1979 and 1980 that Lula helped orchestrate as a union leader during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Those labor actions became pivotal moments in the country’s transition to democracy and established Lula as a prominent political figure across Latin America.
Lula, now 80 years old, previously worked as a lathe operator before becoming a union organizer. He co-founded the Workers’ Party in 1980 and was elected Brazil’s first working-class president in 2002 after three earlier failed attempts. He was re-elected in 2006 and won a third term in 2022, defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by a narrow margin. Bolsonaro, who cannot run due to a 27-year jail sentence for plotting to prevent Lula from taking office, will be replaced by his son Flávio Bolsonaro as the main opposition candidate in the upcoming contest.
The industrial region where Lula emerged as a leader has undergone substantial changes since those defining strikes. Once considered Brazil’s “red belt” due to strong leftist support, the ABC region has shifted politically in recent years through factory closures, demographic changes, and the rise of right-wing movements. Only one of seven cities in the ABC currently has a PT mayor, and the region backed Bolsonaro’s 2018 presidential campaign. Observers anticipate the upcoming election will be competitive, with Lula holding a modest polling advantage over his opponent.
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