Speeches about Lula’s voice in Brazilian media

Abstract

Since the announcement of Lula’s throat cancer on October 2011, the risks presented to the voice of the former president of Brazil gave rise to a wide range of comments. Based on Discourse Analysis, derived from Michel Pêcheux, in this essay we propose to analyze them in terms of their different positions and their distinct meanings. We further undertake a reflection on certain aspects of Brazilian history, which are preserved in one of the strongest voices of the country, in order to answer the following questions: Why was Lula’s voice mentioned a number of times? What are the positions and implications of these comments? What role did his voice play in his public speeches, in the composition of his charisma, and in his political success?