San Francisco Frontiers - Lula, Brazil's political titan, races against time

He keeps running.

At 80, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the dominant figure in Brazilian politics for four decades, wants to show he still has the energy to win a fourth term in office in October's election.

"You can't stop the Earth from turning or the years from passing," Lula muses in his gravelly voice in one of the social media videos he shares showcasing his workouts.

The leftist leader has survived electoral defeats, 580 days in prison, and the disgrace of a corruption conviction which, although later annulled, still prompts taunts from the right of "Lula the thief."

He has also survived health scares, notably a fall in his bathroom in 2024 that caused a brain bleed.

Since then, he often wears a Panama hat. His once thick black hair has greyed and thinned, much like his trademark beard.

But he insists he feels fitter than ever and he dreams of "living to 120."

- Long shadow of corruption -

Lula grew up in deep poverty, the seventh of eight children born to a family of illiterate farmers in the arid northeastern state of Pernambuco.

He worked as a shoeshine boy and peanut vendor before becoming a metalworker and trade unionist. In the 1960s, he lost a finger in a workplace accident.

After losing three presidential bids, Lula finally entered the presidential palace in Brasilia in 2003 and was re-elected in 2006.

He left office in 2010 as a blue-collar hero who presided over a commodity-fueled economic boom that helped lift 30 million people out of poverty.

But massive corruption scandals haunted Lula and his party, fueling a wave of disgust that propelled far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro into the presidency in 2018.

Lula was jailed later that year until the charges were thrown out on procedural grounds and the lead judge on the case was found to be biased.

However, Lula was not exonerated and the scandal contributed to an enduring polarisation in Brazil.

Bolsonaro's presidency was equally divisive, and by the 2022 election, Lula pulled off a dramatic comeback by a razor-thin margin.

Bolsonaro was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after trying to prevent Lula from returning to power.

- 'Brazilian Biden' -

Back in office, Lula at first seemed out of step with a Brazil he appeared to be rediscovering.

He lives without a cellphone in a hyper-connected nation of 213 million people that is flooded with disinformation.

Lula is credited with restoring social programs dismantled by his predecessor, curbing the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and putting Brazil's democracy back on a more secure footing.

His third term, however, has had the feel of a pale remake, with few genuinely new ideas. The father of five still provokes fierce rejection among voters frustrated by inflation, crime and corruption.

In 2022, Lula said he would not seek another term in office.

So why take on presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old senator and eldest son of his greatest political rival?

Lula, who has not cultivated a potential successor, says he wants to stop the far right from returning to "destroy" the country.

"He's in great shape," an anonymous foreign diplomat told AFP, describing Lula as a "campaign beast."

Flavio Bolsonaro is less complimentary: "The Brazilian Biden is grumpy, irresponsible, and has become a danger to our nation. When you look at Lula, you don't see a future."

Joe Biden is, for Lula, the ultimate cautionary tale. The then-octogenarian US president's public decline during the 2024 election campaign clearly left an impression on the Brazilian leader.

His tireless travel schedule and quick wit testify to his stamina -- and he also credits his third wife Rosangela da Silva, 59, with keeping him young.

If he loses in October, Lula would leave office without the triumphant finale he seeks, but with an enduring legacy.

As he reminded foreign media, including AFP, in a 2024 interview: "There is no one in this country with more experience as president than me."

X.Roberts--SFF