SAO PAULO: Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is recovering from cancer radiation therapy, on Saturday thanked a Sao Paulo samba school for its planned tribute to his life but said he could not be with them.
"Gavioes da Fiel," the samba school of the Corinthians, the Sao Paulo soccer team of which Lula is a die-hard fan, said earlier this week he would honor the popular former president with a Carnival parade late Saturday extolling his life of struggle and overcoming the odds.
It said it would bring to the Anhembi sambadrome (in northern Sao Paulo) the life story of the former president who was born into poverty in Brazil's arid northeast but rose to lead the nation.
"From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for your tribute in dedicating your parade this year to my life story," the 66-year-old Lula said in a video message released by his foundation.
The popular former president, who was released from a Sao Paulo hospital Friday after completing radiation therapy for his larynx cancer, said he would not be able to attend on the advice of his doctors.
But he promised to watch the parade on television and root for his samba school.
"This is not a personal tribute, but a tribute to all those who with me have have had to face hardships, leave their hometown and work very hard to build a better life and a more just and unified country," said Lula.
Some 3,900 members of the Corinthians samba school will tell the story of "a Brazilian and Corinthians icon," said the soccer team, which will present a samba song entitled "You will see that a faithful son does not run away for the struggle. Lula, a portrait of a nation."
Corinthians fans point to the social welfare programs created by Lula that helped pull 29 million Brazilians out of poverty.
The former metal worker and labor activist stepped down as president with a soaring 80 percent approval rating, after serving two consecutive terms from January 2003 to December 2010.
Lula, a former smoker who is known for his raspy voice, was diagnosed with cancer last October.
Doctors however have said that the cancerous tumor in his larynx has disappeared.
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