What is "lulism"

Lulism is a political ideology used to describe the consolidation of segments of the society that were previously hostile to the Brazilian Workers' Party and social movements, behind the political forces led by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a new electoral configuration formed in 2006. It is a process of controlled reformism and limited structural change in Brazil which focused on the poorest sections of society. The subproletariat, who has always kept themselves away from Lula, accepted his candidacy after his first term as president, at the same time that the middle‑class detracted from him. The explanation would be on a new ideological configuration that mixes leftwing and rightwing elements. The rhetoric and the praxis, which were able to unite the maintenance of stability and the distributive action of the state, are the origins of the formation of Lulism. Although essentially different, it shares some characteristics with Chavism and Kirchnerism.

To build political consensus and secure social peace, Lulism has chosen to form a pragmatic coalition of interests among various segments of Brazilian society, instead of pursuing an ideology-driven agenda. It means that gradual reformism was favored over a direct confrontation with the interests of the elite. In particular, Brazilian manufacturers, banks and retailers were among the direct beneficiaries of the consumption-led, credit-fueled economic model championed by the government. Andre Singer said that "the convergence of interests of the private industry sector on one side, and of the organized labor force on the other, led to the stability that allowed this political system to take the form of a sort of consensus". It was this equilibrium that allowed the government to gradually make the most significant changes in policy. Non-confrontation principles are, in the Lulism movement, a "sine qua non" condition for development.