American Prestige E239 - Lula and the Rise of the Workers’ Party in Brazil w/ Andre Pagliarini
Dec 23, 2025
Andre Pagliarini, an assistant professor and author specializing in Brazilian labor history, dives deep into the life and political journey of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He discusses Lula's rise through union activism, the emergence of new unionism, and the founding of the Workers' Party during Brazil's waning dictatorship. The conversation touches on Lula's social programs, the challenges of coalition governance, and the impact of corruption scandals. Pagliarini also analyzes Lula's recent return to power, highlighting the complexities of left governance in a changing political landscape.
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How Brazil's Working Class Was Made
- Brazil's industrial working class emerged from a late coffee-fueled urban boom concentrated in São Paulo with massive European immigration.
- Those immigrants imported radical labor ideologies that seeded Brazil's combative new unionism decades later.
The Corporatist Bargain Lula Rejected
- Getúlio Vargas built a corporatist labor bargain that allowed unions but tied them closely to the state.
- Lula's later activism reacted against that paternalistic model and pushed for rank-and-file-led, combative unionism.
Lula's Rank-And-File Union Roots
- Lula rose from informal working-class life to lead combative union strikes by insisting leaders come from the rank-and-file.
- He demanded that union leaders risk themselves alongside workers to win credibility and mobilize strikes.