Jail Term to a Third Term: The Story of Lula's Historic Comeback
Books, love and diehard support helped Lula survive jail and take back Brazil’s presidency. But he inherits a changed country, and the challenges still ahead are daunting.
After much tribulation, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to return to the helm of Latin America’s largest economy.
Photographer: Victor Moriyama/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
During his bleakest days, one of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s favorite cooks traveled 800 miles (1,290 km) from the capital to the city where he was imprisoned for graft to make him a rabada, a typical Brazilian dish of oxtail.
Maria de Jesus Oliveira da Costa, 68, known as “Aunt Zelia,” had to pay a hotel manager in Curitiba to use the kitchen to prepare the meal. Once it was ready, she put the dish in a lunch bag and sent it to the former president’s cell.