The re-emergence of Lulism. Towards a national and popular second wave in Brazil?

Abstract

The candidacy of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his victory in Brazil's 2022 presidential elections after almost two years of imprisonment, signified a re-emergence of Lulismo. But the question that arises is which Lulismo re-emerges. In a still uncertain scenario, in the midst of governmental transition, this paper seeks to answer this question. First, a synthesis of the fundamental aspects of the PT governments and of what we call lulismo is made and, on the other hand, we highlight the main characteristics of the turn to the "right" in Brazil during the governments of Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro, analyzing the program implemented since the coup of 2014-2016 and institutionally defined in the parliamentary coup to Dilma Rousseff, which we characterize as peripheral neoliberalism. From there, we analyze the re-emergence of Lulismo in terms of: a) what is the regional and global scenario in which it occurs and the role of Brazil in recent years; b) what political-social articulation it expresses, what power scheme it has established at the juncture and what it faces, c) what are its main points of articulation and, based on this, what program it seems to outline in the economic, social and foreign policy, among other levels.