Acadêmicos de Niterói brought an enredo about Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's life to Rio's carnival, highlighting his mother Dona Lindu and generating significant social media attention. Despite record digital mentions, the school was relegated to Série Ouro. The parade divided opinions, with most comments about Lula being negative.
Acadêmicos de Niterói presented an enredo dedicated to the life of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Rio de Janeiro's carnival, singing about his journey from childhood to global leadership. The samba, reminiscent of a doctoral thesis, praised Dona Lindu, Lula's mother, described as a lioness who endured a troubled marriage, raised eight children—four of whom died in infancy—and passed away in 1980, as Lula rose as a union leader.
The samba lyrics, in Dona Lindu's voice, evoke the family's migration: "With my chest in pieces / I left in search of love and my dreams / I took my boys by the arms / A relentless sun of the homeland shone / For the wandering destiny / I took you, Luiz Inácio / By irony, thirteen nights, thirteen days / Santa Luzia guided me, São José illuminated / From the left of God the Father, from the union struggle / To world leadership."
The narrative highlights the family's arduous 1952 journey from the Northeast to São Paulo with six children, including seven-year-old Lula. However, biographies and the samba omit uncle Dorico, Lindu's brother, his wife Laura, and two children, who also joined the trip. Dorico provided a safe haven: in 1955, he hosted the family in Santos after Lindu left her alcoholic and promiscuous husband. Lula recalled the harsh conditions: "In the room slept my mother, two sisters, and I... In the kitchen... seven or eight people slept."
Despite the beauty of the tribute, the school did not excel in judging and was relegated to Série Ouro, the second division of the Rio carnival. According to a Quaest survey from January 27 to February 18, Acadêmicos de Niterói garnered 354,000 digital mentions, more than double the runner-up Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel's 141,000. The carnival totaled 2.4 million mentions. In politics, 72% of mentions of politicians referenced Lula, with 42% negative and 33% positive; the right dominated the online debate.
