Is Brazilian president Lula da Silva still alive? Around this question, a full-scale infowar has erupted that holds the whole country in a strangling grip. What we know is that Lula had to undergo a second operation in his head last Friday. This second operation was not in the planning, so that is a very bad sign to begin with. No results of this second operation were communicated, but the press office of the government made available a video that shows Lula in best health and spirits since his graduation, walking in the hospital with a doctor. This video was immediately picked up and multiplied by all the mainstream media in the world as ‘proof’ that the leftist leader is in full control not only of his own body but also of the country.
Note how the words ‘firme e forte’ appear in the same way in three out of four selected media. This is a strong indication for government-controlled media spinning. But there are some serious problems with this video. Firstly, it shows a Lula whose problems are evidently not in his head. And secondly, there are strong indications that the video is not recent but was shot in December 2023 when Lula was in the hospital for a relatively minor issue with his back and legs. To make it even more ridiculous, it was X itself that pointed this out in a clarification message under the video that the government just released.
The post from Nanibarbosa under the video says: “That’s why they want to finish off social media… Look at the dates and the comments. They think we are all idiots!’ So what can we conclude from all this? In any case that the government and the international leftists are in full panic mode about the possible death of Lula and what that will mean for the future of Brazil where — just as in many European countries — the populists are ‘just a heartbeat away’ from taking over the country. Jair Bolsonaro has already expressed in the strongest words possible that he is ready to take control — greatly energized of course by the victory of his close friend Donald Trump.
The whole affair is stunningly reminiscent of the last days of Tancredo Neves in 1985. He was supposed to be the first democratically elected president after the junta decades, but never made it to Brasilia. On the day of his inauguration, a chain of events was set in motion that still divides Brazil to this day and about which definitive answers never have been given. At one point, a photo was published by the government that was supposed to show Tancredo alongside doctors alive and in good spirits, but it later turned out that ‘he’ was a propped up dead body that had been kept in an icehouse for several days. In the end it was not him, but his vice president José Sarney that was sworn in.
LATEST! Today (December 15), Lula released a new video on his own X account. There is no way of saying if this video constitutes a contribution to the resolution of the mysteries around his situation. Significant is that this video appears to get little traction from the mainstream media. A few hours after the release of the video, the Financial Times headlined: ‘Brazil’s left forced to consider post-Lula future: Ageing leader’s brain surgery brings to fore the risk of a power vacuum in his party once his political career ends’.
