The President of Brazil, officially confirmed today as the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate for the presidency, outlined political reform and increased defense investment as priorities.
In his remarks, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed the importance of greater investment in industrial technologies for the exploration of rare earths and critical minerals, insisting that neither the Chinese, nor Americans, nor French would interfere.
Lula, as members of the PT are commonly known, also said he wants to be remembered as more than just the president behind Bolsa Família, a reference to the country’s main income transfer program created under PT administrations.
“We will need to be bolder to change a lot of things,” he declared.
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At 80, Lula da Silva is running for a fourth term, facing as his main rival at the ballot box 45-year-old Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party (PL) candidate and eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Without directly naming his main opponent, Lula said it is essential for the left-wing base and the party to win over undecided voters, stressing that the country cannot allow the far right to return to power.
The most recent poll from Brazilian institute Datafolha showed Lula with 40% of voting intentions in the first round against 32% for Flávio, while in a potential runoff, Lula leads with 48% against 43% for the Bolsonaro-aligned candidate.
“In this country, lies will not prevail. What will prevail is the delivery we are making to the Brazilian people,” he said.
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Speaking for roughly an hour, the Brazilian president touched on political reform, a longstanding PT priority, though he made no mention of the judiciary, focusing instead on the legislative branch and the funding allocated to sustain political parties.
“My fourth presidency is meant to change a lot of things in this country. I want you to know that. And there will be a fight over parliamentary amendments, there will be a fight over the role the legislative branch currently holds,” he stated.
Lula said he could not allow the office of the federal executive to be weakened or stripped of its powers, citing as an example the president’s authority to nominate justices to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and directors to regulatory agencies.
“I cannot allow the President of the Republic to keep losing his rights (…) What rights will the President have left? None. There will have to be a democratic fight to bring change to this country,” he emphasized.
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Earlier this year, Lula’s nominee for the STF was rejected by Brazil’s National Congress, something that hadn’t happened in 132 years.
Lula added that the left “needs to stop the nonsense of thinking it doesn’t need to worry about Defense,” pointing to the scale of Brazil’s land and maritime borders.
“We need to invest in defense because I want to be prepared so that no one invades this country to take away the President the way they [the United States] invaded,” he said, referring to the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
“I want to be prepared for peace, not for war. I want to be prepared so that no one makes a fool of us,” he added. Continuing in a speech marked throughout by an emphasis on national sovereignty, Lula spoke about the importance of further investment in technology and domestic industry to explore Brazil’s critical minerals and rare earths.
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“There are a lot of people trying to meddle in our business and reach into our land, and that’s going to stop, because it belongs to the Brazilian people,” he stated.
The formal launch of Lula’s candidacy comes at a moment when his public image has taken some hits, with Brazil’s Federal Police investigating his eldest son, known as Lulinha, over suspected influence peddling within the federal government. Additionally, longtime ally and friend Senator Jaques Wagner of Bahia is also under Federal Police scrutiny as part of the ongoing Banco Master investigation.
Lula previously ran for the Brazilian presidency in 1989, 1994 and 1998, before finally winning in 2002 and being reelected in 2006. In 2018, the PT had formally registered Lula’s candidacy while he was imprisoned in connection with the Lava Jato case, but Brazil’s Electoral Court blocked it from proceeding.
This year, the PT is repeating its successful 2022 partnership with the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), when former longtime rivals Lula da Silva and current Vice President Geraldo Alckmin joined forces on a single ticket to defeat then-president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula’s campaign is set to officially kick off on August 16, with a rally in the São Paulo region.
