Sawt Falasteen - Homage or propaganda? Carnival parade stars Brazil's Lula

The decision by samba school Academicos de Niteroi to pay homage to veteran leftist President Inacio Lula da Silva at this year's carnival extravaganza has raised eyebrows just eight months before elections.

Academicos de Niteroi will be the first to parade down Rio de Janeiro's Sambodrome avenue on February 15, at the start of the three-day competition that is the peak of the city's annual Carnival festivities.

Twelve samba schools will compete in parades featuring thousands of participants, with colossal, often animated floats, booming drum sections, and dancers draped in little more than beads and glitter.

Each year the schools choose a theme linked to Brazilian culture, history, or popular figures.

While Academicos argues it wants to honor Lula to thank him for his social welfare policies, the opposition has denounced the parade as equivalent to a campaign event months before official campaigning starts in August.

Lula, 80, who is expected to attend the parade as a spectator, is seeking a fourth term in the October elections.

"This is not propaganda, it's a tribute. Many people in our school were able to get an education thanks to the president's public policies," Hamilton Junior, one of the school's directors, told AFP.

- 'One of Brazil's greatest presidents' -

Junior said it was a story of a man from Brazil's poor north-east who "faced many hardships, and became one of Brazil's greatest presidents."

Hamilton said there had been a long waiting list to take part in the parade.

During technical rehearsals at the Sambodrome -- which attract a massive crowd -- dancers dressed as steelworkers in reference to Lula's past occupation.

The lyrics of the song recount Lula's poor childhood in rural Pernambuco, his move to Sao Paulo, his union activism, and social policies implemented under his different administrations.

There is no mention of the October election, but the song does not shy away from Brazil's current political scene.

It refers to "tariffs and sanctions" imposed by US President Donald Trump to punish Brazil for putting his ally, former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for plotting a coup.

Trump has since lifted many of these measures.

The song also includes the phrase "no amnesty," a nod to efforts by Bolsonaro's supporters to reduce a 27-year prison sentence he began serving in November.

A large screen mounted on the back of a truck displayed images mocking Bolsonaro -- showing him in a prison uniform or with blood-stained hands, a reference to his Covid-skepticism.

- Opposition to sue -

One of the composers of the samba told local media that Lula had cried when Academicos leaders travelled to Brasilia last year to play the song for him.

But the opposition has mobilized against the parade.

"We filed a lawsuit to prevent your money from being used to finance an electoral campaign disguised as a 'tribute,'" wrote center-right deputy Kim Kataguiri on social media.

Meanwhile, lawmakers from the right-wing Partido Novo asked Brazil's Federal Court of Auditors to block the transfer of 1 million reais ($180,000) in federal funds to the school.

This contribution is part of a budget that benefits all 12 of the samba schools taking part in the main parade equally.

Watching the rehearsal, Adriano Santos, a 43-year-old social worker from the Rocinha favela, said the samba school was "being brave, innovative."

"There will be those who like it and those who don't, but I believe this parade will represent Brazil."

B.Khalifa--SF-PST