São Paulo.- The Workers’ Party (PT) of Brazil made official this Sunday the candidacy of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the presidential elections next October, in which he will seek a historic fourth non-consecutive term with the majority of polls in his favor.
“I want to say to all the militancy of the parties that are here: we homologate, we officialize now. Lula, president; (Gerardo) Alckmin, vice,” said the president of the PT, Edinho Silva, at the proclamation ceremony, held at the Expo Center Norte convention center, in São Paulo, the largest electoral college in the country.
The event, which began on time at 10:00 local time (13:00 GMT), will seal the renewal of the alliance with the moderate Geraldo Alckmin as the candidate for Vice President, before hundreds of militants, ministers, and leaders of the ruling bloc.
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“We are here to make it official, but also to celebrate this political construction that is historic, the political construction that will re-elect President Lula and Vice President Alckmin, keeping our country on that path of reconstruction of public policies,” added Silva.
At 80 years old, Lula faces what will be his seventh run for the Head of State after having governed between 2003 and 2010, and returning to power in 2023.
“I have the same energy as when I was 30 years old”
“I have the same energy as when I was 30 years old,” the veteran union leader has reiterated in recent months to dispel any doubts about his state of health and project vitality ahead of the race.
Lula arrives at the electoral race defending the advances of his administration in the drop in unemployment and the reduction of poverty, although framed in a context of economic slowdown, with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 2% for this election year, following 3.4% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.
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Inflationary pressure, marked both by internal issues and the rise in food and fuel prices due to the geopolitical context, keeps the country’s basic interest rate fixed at 14.25%.
Added to a nominal deficit in public accounts close to 10% of GDP and a public debt that has exceeded the 80% barrier, two points that the opposition seeks to exploit during the campaign, along with the fight against organized crime that in recent years has expanded in Brazil and the rest of the countries in the region.
In addition, this week, a Supreme Court judge authorized the opening of two influence-peddling investigations against his eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as ‘Lulinha’.
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October elections
The October elections are shaping up to be another head-to-head between the progressivism championed by the current head of state and the far-right embodied by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, 45.
The eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, disqualified, sentenced to 27 years in prison and under house arrest for an attempted coup d’état, was officially named last week as the political heir to the conservative space.
According to the latest projections, the ruler starts with a certain advantage.
The most recent survey by the firm Datafolha places Lula with 48% of the voting intention compared to the 43% that Flávio Bolsonaro would obtain in a potential runoff.
