Brazil's leftist former president takes on rightist Bolsonaro in dramatic fight
India Today
After being jailed for corruption, Brazil’s leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is hoping to stage a comeback in the October presidential election by unseating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
Leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will launch his campaign for Brazil's October presidential election Saturday, seeking to unseat far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and stage a remarkable comeback four years after being jailed for corruption.
More than a decade after leaving office as the most popular president in Brazilian history, the charismatic but tarnished 76-year-old is expected to officially declare a new run at a huge rally in Sao Paulo.
It was hardly a secret Lula, who has enjoyed a long -- though shrinking -- lead in the polls, would jump into the campaign, which does not officially start until August.
The leftist icon has been in unofficial campaign mode since March last year, when the Supreme Court annulled the corruption convictions that sidelined him from politics.
Two days later, he came out swinging at Bolsonaro's "imbecile" policies, telling voters: "I still feel young enough to fight."
The Supreme Court's finding of bias on the part of the lead judge in the case, Sergio Moro -- who went on to become Bolsonaro's justice minister -- had the instant effect of setting up this year's elections as a polarizing clash between arch-enemies Lula and Bolsonaro.
"In truth, I never gave up," Lula told Time magazine in an interview published Wednesday.
