By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
File Photo.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has added his voice to the list of world leaders congratulating Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election as president of the Republic of Brazil.
In a statement, Ramaphosa said South Africa looked forward to working with the government of Brazil under the leadership of Da Silva.
He said the two developing countries shared several common socio-economic challenges and aspirations.
Brazilian leftist leader Lula won a third presidential term on Sunday in a remarkable comeback for the country’s first working class president, whose storied political career nearly ended in prison.
A former metalworker born to illiterate farm hands, Lula has been the most central figure in Brazilian politics for four decades, since leading labor union strikes against a military dictatorship in the 1980s and forming the leftist Workers Party.
Lula called his victory over far-right President Jair Bolsonaro by a tight margin in a runoff on Sunday, a “resurrection” after he was jailed in Brazil’s biggest corruption scandal following his two-term 2003-2010 presidency.
“They tried to bury me alive and I’m here to govern this country,” he said in a speech at his campaign headquarters on Sunday night, with his gravelly voice hoarse from months on the campaign trail.
The 77-year-old, whose once-bushy hair and trademark beard have gone white, relied on unmatched political instincts and charisma to overcome intense skepticism of his Workers Party, which oversaw a deep recession and vast corruption scandal that eventually brought Bolsonaro to power.
Lula has vowed to undo Bolsonaro’s legacy, including pro-gun policies and weakened environmental protections in the Amazon rainforest, which have left Latin America’s largest nation increasingly isolated on the global stage.