Twelve years after leaving power, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, icon of the Brazilian left, must announce his candidacy in front of 4,000 supporters in Sao Paulo.
The old lion Lula embarks on Saturday May 7 in the presidential battle in Brazil, ready to do battle, at 76, with the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, in a duel which promises to be fierce and of which he is for the instant favorite.
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Twelve years after leaving power with a stratospheric approval rate (87%), Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, icon of the Brazilian left still without a successor, takes up the gauntlet. He must announce his candidacy in front of 4,000 supporters gathered in a convention center in Sao Paulo, thus lifting what was an open secret. This is the sixth candidacy for the presidential election of the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT), a figure as resilient as it is essential in the political landscape of Brazil, which he led for two terms (2003-2010).
For lack of a candidate who would make a third way viable, Lula 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. The fight therefore promises to be bitter between two men who are opposites, and who hate each other. The presidential election of October 2 and 30 will bear witness to the extreme polarization of the immense emerging country of 213 million inhabitants.
“Verbal Incontinence”
“When I left the presidency, I no longer thought of being a candidate again”Lula told the American magazine this week Time. But the former trade unionist believes his legacy – reducing inequality, social policies, promoting education – has been « destroyed, dismantled ». « I believe I can do more and do better than what I have already done »he said to Time. But the context was then quite different. Growth, with soaring commodity prices, had enabled Lula to lift 30 million Brazilians out of poverty.
This new candidacy has a taste of revenge for the ex-president, whose banishment from the race in 2018 had allowed the easy election of Jair Bolsonaro. While imprisoned for a year and a half for corruption until November 2019, the political career of the ex-metalworker seemed to be over. Until the Supreme Court overturned his convictions in March 2021. Lula always said he was the victim of a political conspiracy intended to prevent him from competing in 2018 when he was – already – the favorite in the polls.
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But for millions of Brazilians, Lula and the PT still represent unbearable corruption. An image to erase for Lula, as well as the unease created by his many slippages recently: controversial statements on abortion, on the police or on the middle classes. In his interview with Time, he also attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, « good comedian (…) who puts on a show » and is « as responsible » war in his country than his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The writer Paulo Coelho denounced in a tweet the« verbal incontinence » of Lula and, according to The Intercept, the very entourage of the former head of state encourages him to take a little rest. But as of next week, Lula will go on campaign and crisscross the country – as the president candidate Bolsonaro has been doing for months – starting with the state of Minas Gerais (southeast). « If he really wants to win the election, Lula must go to the streets, like Bolsonaro, to be closer to the voters »told AFP Sylvio Costa, founder of the Congresso em foco site.
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He has formed a ticket with Geraldo Alckmin (69, center right), as vice-president. The former governor of Sao Paulo, if he does not have the charisma of Lula, is there to reassure voters from the center and the moderate right. He will soon meet the powerful agribusiness and evangelicals, who played a major role in Bolsonaro’s election. But Alckmin tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday and it is from his home, by videoconference, that he will participate in the launch of the campaign.
Lula must also fill, at least a little, his deficit on social networks against a Bolsonaro clan who uses them as a war machine. Already, on Instagram, he throws himself enthusiastically into the waves and wears very trendy neon glasses.
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