Lula da Silva after reelection in Brazil.
São Paulo, Aug 2 (EFE).-
The Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) officially confirmed on Sunday President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as its candidate for October’s presidential election. Lula, favored by most polls, seeks a historic fourth, non-consecutive term.
“I want to tell all the party members present: we have confirmed it, it is now official. Lula for President; (Gerardo) Alckmin for Vice President,” said PT President Edinho Silva in an interview before the proclamation ceremony at the Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, the country’s largest electoral district.
The event began promptly at 10:00 local time, cementing the renewed alliance with moderate Geraldo Alckmin as the vice-presidential candidate before hundreds of party members, cabinet ministers, and leaders of the ruling bloc.
“We are here to make it official, but also to celebrate this historic political endeavor, a construction that will re-elect President Lula and Vice President Alckmin, keeping our country on the path of rebuilding public policy,” Silva added.
At the event, Lula vowed to increase defense spending if he wins the October election, ensuring that “no one invades the country and takes away the president,” as happened in Venezuela.
“I want to be prepared so that no one invades this country to take the president, as they have done elsewhere. I want to be prepared for peace, not war,” Lula asserted.
The head of state made an apparent reference to the capture of Nicolás Maduro by The United States special forces in Caracas on January 3.
In this context, he urged his leftist base to stop dismissing defense as a “silly” issue that “does not need to be worried about.”
“I want to be prepared so that no one dares to take us for fools. Is that clear? That is why it is important to understand that we need to invest in defense,” he emphasized.
At 80, Lula is embarking on his seventh presidential race. He governed from 2003 to 2010 and returned to power in 2023.
“I have the same energy as when I was 30,” the veteran labor leader has reiterated in recent months to dispel any doubts about his health and to project vitality ahead of the campaign.
Lula enters the race defending his administration’s progress in lowering unemployment and reducing poverty, though he faces an economic slowdown. GDP growth is projected at around 2% for this election year, following 3.4% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.
Inflationary pressure, driven by both domestic factors and rising global food and fuel prices, has kept the country’s benchmark interest rate at 14.25%.
This is compounded by a nominal public deficit near 10% of GDP and public debt exceeding 80%, two issues the opposition aims to exploit during the campaign, alongside the fight against organized crime, which has expanded across Brazil and the region in recent years.
Additionally, this week, a Supreme Court judge authorized the opening of two influence-peddling investigations into his eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as “Lulinha.”
The October election is shaping up to be another showdown between the progressivism championed by the current head of state and the far-right represented by 45-year-old Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
The eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is ineligible for office, sentenced to 27 years in prison, and under house arrest for an attempted coup, was officially named the political heir of the conservative camp last week.
According to recent projections, the incumbent holds a slight lead. The latest survey by the firm Datafolha places Lula at 48% of the vote intention compared to 43% for Flávio Bolsonaro in a potential runoff. EFE
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