Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced this Saturday, May 7, that he would ” return to the fight to run for a third term in order to “ rebuild ” the country. He has allied with the center right for this October election in a country that has been very polarized since the election of Jair Bolsonaro.
” The reconstruction and transformation of Brazil, which will be more difficult than the election itself “Warned Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 76, during a meeting in front of 4,000 supporters in Sao Paulo. Twelve years after leaving power with a stratospheric approval rating (87%), the old lion of the Brazilian left will run for a third term. The former trade unionist is the only one who can beat Jair Bolsonaro (67) at the polls, whom he distances in all the polls, but who seems ready to do anything to retain power.
” Criminal policy »
” What do we want? The Brazil of democracy or authoritarianism? The choice has never been easier chanted Lula in front of the cheering crowd. ” Brazil is too big to be relegated to pariah status “, again launched the ex-president, repeating that he claimed “ restore sovereignty of the country, facing the irresponsible and criminal policy of the government “. The former trade unionist believes his legacy – reducing inequality, social policies, promoting education – has been “ destroyed, dismantled “.
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Lula, navy suit and open shirt collar, was content to read his speech, not looking at the public very much and avoiding the great flights of which he was a specialist. His relatives advised him to show a reassuring face, after controversial statements. During an interview with the magazine Time this week, he attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, this ” good comedian ” who is ” also responsible of the war in his country than his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
sacred union
In order to show a sacred union to beat Jair BolsonaroLula’s running mate Geraldo Alckmin, a former center-right governor of Sao Paulo, said in his video conference speech that ” no discrepancy “couldn’t stop him from filling” its mission, the defense of democracy “.
This new candidacy has a taste of revenge for the ex-president, whose banishment from the race in 2018 had allowed the election of Jair Bolsonaro. Imprisoned for a year and a half for corruption, his political career seemed over until the Supreme Court overturns his convictions in March 2021.
From next week, Lula will go on campaign and criss-cross the country – as President-candidate Bolsonaro has been doing for months. The presidential election of October 2 and 30 will bear witness to the extreme polarization of the immense emerging country of 213 million inhabitants.