Lula Tells Supporters 'You Are Worth Dying For'

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio 'Lula' da Silva sent a strong message to supporters from his jail cell in Curitiba Wednesday saying: “For you all, it was worth being born and, for you all, it will be worth dying.”

In the message, which was published on Lula's official website, he described them as his sole motivation to gain freedom.

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“Dear companions, you are my cry for freedom every day... If I've done nothing in life except build friendship with you, I'm already a fulfilled man,” he said.

The letter was read to supporters gathered outside the federal police headquarters by Marcio Macedo, the Workers' Party vice-president and coordinator of Lula's caravans across Brazil.

Yesterday, Lula lost his latest appeal against his conviction for corruption and money laundering charges and a judge vetoed a scheduled visit to Lula by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Adolfo Perez Esquivel. The Argentinean architect and writer began a campaign to nominate the former president Brazilian for the Nobel Peace Prize last month.

Black activist, Angela Davis, also showed support for Lula's freedom when she met with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in California. During a speech to students at the University of California at Berkeley, Dilma said the "tree of democracy” in Brazil has been overrun by “parasites.”

The most recent polls conducted by Vox Populi for the Unified Workers' Union reveals that 59 percent of the Brazilian population consider Lula to be a political prisoner after he complied with an arrest warrant against him earlier this month.

Despite his conviction and imprisonment, the former head of state has topped every 2018 electoral poll conducted, not only by Vox Populi but also Ibope, Datafolha, Data Poder 360, Instituto Parana, the National Confederation of Transportation/MDA and Ipsos.

Lula's two terms in office were marked by a slew of social programs, lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and removing the country from the United Nations World Hunger Map. He left office with a record approval rating of 83 percent in 2011, according to Datafolha.