Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Lula's achievements are remarkable for their scale and impact. He created more public universities than any Brazilian president and oversaw the Bolsa Família program that lifted over 20 million people out of poverty. His foreign policy expanded Brazil's global influence, and he left office with an 80% approval rating, rare for any democratically elected leader. Despite a controversial conviction and imprisonment, he returned to win a third term, a comeback almost unprecedented in modern politics.