Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Caeté, October 27, 1945 ) is a politician and former trade unionist Brazil, fifth and thirtieth president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, who carries the day since January 1, 2003.

Lula, hipocorístico form of "Luís" is his nickname from the time that it was union representative. Later, this name was officially added to its legal name to represent him electorally.

Lula is co-founder and president of honor of the Partido dos Trabalhadores(Workers' Party) (PT). In 1990 he was one of the founders and organizers, along with Fidel Castro, the Forum of Sao Paulo, which embraces part of the left-wing political movements in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Lula is the Brazilian who most often applied to the presidency of the republic of Brazil, being a presidential candidate five times:

1989 (lost to Fernando Collor de Mello) 1994 (lost to Fernando Henrique Cardoso) 1998 (lost to Fernando Henrique Cardoso) 2002 (defeated José Serra) 2006 (defeated Geraldo Alckmin). In 2006 exceeded Rui Barbosa, who has applied four times.

With political career made the state of Sao Paulo, Lula is the only president born in Pernambuco in Brazil.

According to the American magazine Newsweek, is 18 ° instead of the more powerful of the world. The 1 position is occupied by U.S. President Barack Obama

Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit, Order of Merit Order of Merit and Naval Aviation, in perpetuity. As Grand Master of the military orders, automatically is decorated with the Grand Cross Grand Collar of the Order of Cruzeiro do Sul and the Order of Rio Branco. As Grand Master of the order, is automatically awarded to the highest degree of them, so life Grand Cross of the Order of Merit. As grand-master of this order, is automatically awarded to the highest degree of it, so life Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit Judiciary [28] Grand Cross of the Order of the Eagle Asteca (Mexico) Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Merit (Norway) Grand Cross of the Order Amilcar Cabral (Cape Verde) Grand Cross of Military Order of the Tower and Sword (Portugal) Grand Cross of the Legion of Merit French (France) Grand Cross of the Order of the Equatorial Star (Gabon) [29] Grand Cross of the Order of Omar Torrijos (Panama) [30] Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Algeria) [31] Grand-Collar of the Order of Liberty (Portugal) [32] Grand Cross of the Order of Boyacá (Colombia) [33] Grand Collar of the Order of the Elephant (Denmark) Grand Collar of the Order of Real Sword (Sweden) Grand Collar of the Order Marshal Francisco Solano López (Paraguay) [34] Grand Collar of the Order of Merit (Ecuador) Grand Cross of the Order of the Star (Ghana) Grand Collar of the Order of Inconfidência (Minas Gerais) Grand Collar of the Order of Tiradentes (Minas Gerais) Grand Cross of the Order of Merit Aperipê (Sergipe Medal of Merit Marechal Floriano Peixoto (Alagoas) [ Santos Dumont Medal of Merit, the Brazilian Air Force; Medal of Merit Industrial do Brasil (Brazilian Association of Industry and Trade) [ Prince of Asturias Award (Spain) Friend's Book Award, the Brazilian Chamber of Books Doctor honoris causa by the Federal University of Bahia Federal University of Pernambuco [2], University of Montes Claros, School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (Ecole d'Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, SciencePo), Duke University (USA, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Gold medal for "International Alliance Against Hunger", United Nations Fund against Hunge

On the economic management of the Lula government is characterized by economic stability, and a trade balance surplus. The internal debt rose from 731 billion dollars (in 2002) to a trillion and one hundred billion reais in December 2006, decreasing, however the proportion of debt on Gross Domestic Product. Concurrently, the external debt had a drop of 168 billion reais.

During the Lula government there was an increase in the generation of jobs. According to IBGE, from 2003 to 2006 the unemployment rate fell and the number of people employed rose signed portfolio with more than 985 thousand, while total employment fell signed without portfolio 3.1%. But the total of persons employed grew 8.6% in the period 2003 to 2006.

In the area of fiscal and monetary policies, Lula's government was characterized by conducting a conservative economic policy. The Central Bank has autonomy practice, although not guaranteed by law, to search for a specific inflation target of the government. Tax policy ensures the achievement of primary surpluses even greater than those observed in the previous government (4.5% of GDP against 4.25% at the end of the FHC government). However, critics point out that the surplus is achieved by cutting investment, while they increased spending on instruments of transfer income such as Bolsa Familia, and minimum-wage increase in the pension deficit.

In his first year in government, Lula has committed itself to undertake a reform of welfare, by constitutional amendment, characterized by the imposition of a contribution on the income of retired public sector and greater regulation of the national pension system.

The economic issue has become therefore the greater the government's agenda. The control and minimizing the risks of inflation targeting for the long term to Brazil imposed a restriction on economic growth, which however was held to higher rates than were achieved during the previous government, with an average annual GDP growth of 3, 35%, against 2.12% average of the second term of office.

Critics pointed out, however, that low inflation was achieved from restrictive monetary policies, which led to a growth dependent, for example, exports of agricultural commodities (especially soybeans), which not only met its limits of growth during 2005, and has also contributed to the growth of land.

Political relations with the Lula government's opposition and media have been troubled. Elected president with a bench minor, composed by PT, PSB, PCB, and PCdoB PL, Lula went to the co of the far right of the Brazilian political spectrum. Managed to support the PP, PTB and parcel of the PMDB, at the expense of breaking with this power. After two years of government maintaining majority in Congress, which facilitated the adoption of projects of interest to the executive, an internal dispute of power between the parties together (PT, PSB, PCdoB, PL, PP, PTB) resulted in the mensalão scandal.

Already in May 2004, the government was considering banning the country the American journalist Larry Rohter of The New York Times, for spreading rumors about the alleged propensity of Lula to drink.

After reports of the then Deputy Roberto Jefferson of the PTB, involved in the scheme of bribes in the Brazilian Post and Telegraph, there was tremendous political breakdown between the executive and its base, increasing the degree of attack of the opposition parties. This crisis is deployed in others, which generated some paralysis in the federal government, including the fall of Ministers and Members of cassation. During this period, between April and December 2005, the rate of adoption of the Lula government reached its lowest percentage since the beginning of his mandate. Also there was the resignation of Ministers Jose Dirceu, Benedita da Silva, Luiz Gushiken, on suspicion of involvement in cases of corruption or prevaricação.Em January 2006, with the erosion of the legislative branch in the middle of acquittals of Congress involved in the scheme, tried by their peers for involvement in incidents of dishonesty, Lula can react, deviates from the scandals and back to have high levels of popularity. The case of the sale of a portfolio for PT in São Paulo, containing information about alleged irregularities in the management of Jose Serra in the Ministry of Health, less than two months of the first round of elections in 2006, did not decrease the rate of popularity of the president.

However, cases continued to be ventilated as the son of Lula, Fabio Luis Lula da Silva, the "Lulinha" which would supposedly enriched after close to fifteen million contract with the actual telecommunications company Telemar [9], which government is the shareholder.

At the beginning of 2008 there was a new crisis: the use of corporate cards. Complaints about irregularities in the use of corporate cards began to appear. The complaints led to the resignation of the Minister of Promotion of Racial Equality Matilde Ribeiro, who was the record of spending with the card in 2007. [10] The Minister of Sports Orlando Silva returned to public coffers more than $ 30 thousand, avoiding a dismissal . [11] The complaint that generated a request to open the CPI by the Congress was using a corporate card to the daughter of a security Lula, Lula da Silva Cordeiro Lurian, with spending of $ 55 thousand between April and December 2007. The research, however, had the period of coverage from the government of then President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The press revealed that the Planalto Palace assembled a dossier that details expenses of the family of FHC and that documents were being used to intimidate the opposition in the CPI, but the Civil House denied the existence of the dossier. [12] Months later, under criticism the opposition, the CPI of Corporate Cards exempted all government ministers Lula accused of irregularities in the use of cards and did not mention the issue with the mounting expense of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso [13].

Datafolha Institute of Research, published on 17 December 2006, shows that Lula was spontaneously identified by 35% of respondents as the best president that Brazil has. At the end of 2002, Fernando Henrique Cardoso obtained 18% of preference. After Lula, came FHC (12%), JK (11%), Getúlio (8%) and José Sarney (5%). Lula also earned a higher rate of adoption of a Brazilian president to end the mandate received by the Office (which is the measurement from around the country to democracy) - 52% felt their government excellent or good. After obtaining approval from the record of a president, (55% said their government is good or good in March 2008 [14], the highest since the beginning of research in 1990), Lula break it again in September 2008 with 64% of excellent or good conceptual evaluation. [15]

Next to the vice-president José Alencar, President Lula up the ramp of the Planalto Palace in ceremony for its second possession mandatoPara his second term, Lula has the support of a coalition of twelve parties (PT, PMDB, PRB, PCdoB, PSB, PP, PR, PTB, PV, PDT, PSC and PAN), whose presidents or leaders sit in the Political Council, which meets periodically (usually every week) with Lula.

Moreover, PTdoB, PMN and PHS are also part of the basis for government support in Congress, totaling fifteen governing parties. Lula was launched on the day of re-election, the goal of GDP growth to 5% a year for his second term. However, on 22 January, it launched the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program), a set of measures aimed at accelerating the pace of growth of Brazilian economy, with estimates of investment of 500 billion reais for four years of the second term of the President, a series of administrative and legislative changes. The CAP provided for a GDP growth of 4.5% in 2007 and 5% annually until 2010, although it provides a higher inflation of 4.5% (which is criticized by experts as the government argues for inflation higher end of the term than at the beginning of it).

The Education Development Plan (EDP), which establishes the goal of the Brazilian education level with developed countries by 2021 and provides for measures to 2010 (including the creation of an index to measure the quality of education and a minimum wage for teachers of public schools) was officially launched on April 24 at the Ministry of Education. It is expected in the coming months the launch of Pronasci (National Security with Citizenship - provisional name), which provides, among other measures, the creation of a national minimum wage for civil and military police and a program of housing for police, to remove them from areas of risk. From the creation of the National Secretariat of Ports, on May 7, 2007, the government began to have 37 ministries. And with the appointment of philosopher Roberto Mangabeira Unger (for SeAlopra - Special Secretariat for Long Term Actions), the government had a 38 Ministries - with more criticism of experts, by taking a strategic area of government of the Ministry of Planning.

On May 15, 2007, Lula made his second formal press conference since he assumed the Presidency of the Republic and the first of his second term. On October 26, 2007, Lula made a visit to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro on Ilha do Fundão Rio de Janeiro, where he had the opportunity to learn a new type of fuel from the bagasse of sugar cane.

In economy, the year 2007 is marked by the resumption of activity in various sectors, due mainly to recovery of income of the population and the expansion of credit in the country the emphasis is Agropecuária, whose performance was driven by rising domestic consumption of food and the international demand for commodities. The best conditions of income and credit also increased the performance of the industry, with emphasis on the records of production of automotive sector, in addition to the Construction sector. With the resumption, the Brazilian GDP showed growth of 5.4% in 2007, the highest growth rate since 2004, when growth of 5.7% [16].

In 2008, when the heating demand and domestic economic activity has generated concern for achieving the goals of inflation and required the Central Bank to tighten monetary policy by increasing the basic interest rate, the global financial crisis originated in the United reached the last quarter in Brazil. But as the first half still had a strong economic performance, the GDP ended the year with a growth rate of 5.1%.

Under influence of the impacts of the global financial crisis especially with rising unemployment in the country in the first two months of 2009, the approval of the Lula government, which in December 2008, had hit new record, reaching, according to Datafolha Research, the brand 70% of the evaluation of "excellent" or "good" [18], has been falling in March 2009 to 65%. It was the first reduction observed in the second term of the President.