THE LIFE OF LULA

NAME: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva BIRTH DATE: Oct 6, 1945 BIRTHPLACE: Caetes, Brazil

EARLY YEARS: Silva grew up in Brazil’s northeastern state of Pernambuco, where he was the seventh of eight children. He first saw his father when he was five, though the family was later reunited in the port city of Santos, where they lived a hardscrabble existence. He received little formal education and began working in a factory at 14 as a metalworker.

UNION YEARS: He steadily rose up union ranks and was elected head of a major steel workers union in 1975. He led strikes against Brazil’s military government, which fell in the mid-1980s, and he was briefly jailed when a court ruled a strike illegal.

POLITICAL YEARS: Silva and other union leaders founded the Workers’ Party in 1980. He was elected to Congress in 1986 with more votes than any other legislator. After two unsuccessful bids for the presidency, he was elected in 2002 and again in 2006. His two-term presidency coincided with strong commodity prices that fuelled an economic boom in Brazil and allowed generous social programmes to lift millions out of poverty. When he left office at the end of 2010, he had an 87% approval rating.

POST-PRESIDENCY YEARS: The end of the commodity boom and economic mismanagement by Silva and his handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff, led to a severe recession and a dive in Rousseff’s popularity. At the same time, a huge bribe and kickback scandal ensnared much of Brazil’s political and business elite, including Silva. Rousseff was impeached and replaced by current President Michel Temer.

SILVA’S CONVICTION: Silva was convicted of corruption and money laundering on July 12, 2017, and sentenced to 9 years in prison. He will remain free while an appeal is heard. He was accused of receiving a beachfront apartment and repairs to the property as kickbacks — charges he denies.