To halt Brazil’s decline, Lula needs to cut runaway public spending

When in 2022 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential election, democrats everywhere were relieved. Mr Bolsonaro, a hard-right populist, had spread intolerance and guns, and encouraged the despoliation of the Amazon rainforest. His threat to democracy was summed up by his failed attempt to persuade the armed forces to overturn his election defeat. Whatever his faults, Lula is a democrat. And he has moved quickly to curb deforestation, which is in both Brazil’s and the world’s interest.