Lula, Lifelong Learner?

• Published in: Latin American politics and society 2022-02, Vol.64 (1), p.162-167
• Main Author: Power, Timothy J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Authoritarianism; Authority; Campaigns; Case studies; Charisma; Democracy; Democratization; Elections; Governors; Political development; Political parties; Political power; Political systems; Politics; Pragmatism; Presidential elections; Presidents; State elections; Succession; Weber, Max (1864-1920); Working class
• ISSN: 1531-426X; 1548-2456
• DOI: 10.1017/lap.2021.62

John French’s new biography of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is an impressive achievement. Because the story of Lula is also the story of Brazil’s long transition from authoritarianism to democracy, the book does double duty as a holistic analysis of Brazilian politics and society. [...]transfer is routinely attempted throughout Latin America: for a case study, simply pick a prominent political surname and add -ismo to it: brizolismo, quercismo, malufismo, bolsonarismo, etc.1 The succession of Lula within the PT, endlessly postponed, could lead into a useful discussion of Weber’s three types of legitimate authority: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational. Many observers have noted that Lula will be seeking a third term in office in his sixth presidential campaign; fewer, however, remind us that he will also be completing 43 years as the de facto leader of his party. Lula’s enthusiastic engagement in this campaign no doubt reflected his party’s calculus that its fastest path to power would be via presidential elections, but his decision to engage in multiclass coalitional politics—sharing the stage with figures such as Franco Montoro, Ulysses Guimarães, and Leonel Brizola—was a sharp break with his gubernatorial strategy in 1982, yielding immediate payoffs for his public reputation.