President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva receives EL PAÍS at the headquarters of the State leadership in Brasilia, designed in 1956 by Oscar Niemeyer, it is full of symbolism. It is one of the buildings stormed on January 8, 2023, by the mobs of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The coup attempt brought Brazilian democracy to the brink of the abyss and even today, although the far-right leader has been sentenced to 27 years in prison, it is still felt in national politics: Lula, who is preparing to run for a fourth term in October, will have as his main opponent a son of Bolsonaro.
Read more El Mencho and the R3: the family trail that connects the Cartel Jalisco bosses in California
—“We cannot allow this country to be destroyed again as it was for four years,” says Lula.
Read more Eric Swalwell’s «double life»: from his fight against Trump to being accused of rape
