Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said at a rally near Sao Paulo Saturday that he would return to public life in order to defend the political project he initiated and continued through his successor, President Dilma Rousseff.
"I am going to talk. I am going to give interviews and I am going to make people uncomfortable," Lula was quoted by the AFP news agency.
Despite not being in office since 2011, Lula still has a significant amount of support, particularly with those affiliated with the leftist Workers Party, known as the PT, which he helped found. He is also often the target of criticism from PT's adversaries and political opponents of President Rousseff.
“People don't leave me alone, mainly (my) adversaries. I've learned one thing: you can only kill a bird if he keeps still, if that bird is moving, they stop. I am going to start flying again,” said Lula.
Right-wing political forces have gone on the attack, attempting to tie both Lula and Rousseff to an ongoing scandal involving the state-owned oil company Petrobras. Neither has been charged with any wrongdoing.
Lula said he return to political life was motivated by an interest in directly responding to these attacks.
According to da Silva, Rousseff's political opponents are failing to respect democracy by seeking her ouster. Rousseff was reelected president in October 2014 with 51.6 percent support.
The former president also lashed out at the media's role in the current crisis facing the PT, saying it amounted to a “criminalization” of the party.
Lula's election in 2003 marked the first leftist government to power in Brazil after the end of the military dictatorship that had ruled the country since 1964. The former president expressed concern that the return of the right to power would mean an undermining of the popular programs initiated by PT governments.
"I am sure that our rivals are heading to undo what we achieved in improving people's lives," said Lula at a rally Friday.
Political commentators have long expected Lula to seek the presidency in the 2018 elections and da Silva himself said he would be the PT's candidate if necessary.
Lula is set to embark on a country-wide tour aimed at improving the public's perception of the party and President Rousseff.