RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva left Brazil and the world in doubt about his presidential aspirations when he confirmed that his candidacy will only be defined in 2022. However, he insisted that he continues working with “all the political forces to fix” the country.
“I will decide on my candidacy at the beginning of next year,” Lula assured during a press conference this Friday in Brasilia.
The former President described the current President, Jair Bolsonaro, as “disastrous”, reiterated the criticism of his government, and asked Brazilians to elect someone who knows how to govern and who is “human”.
Lula, who governed the country between 2003 and 2010, recalled the problems faced by the South American power, with an unemployment rate of 14%, where more than 33 million people work informally and 10% “go hungry” because inflation has already exceeded double digits. The cost of living is very high.
“Everything we have conquered is being destroyed. This government destroyed respect for the minimum wage and dismantled industries (…). We have wealth in water, in the environment, in oil. All this is useless in the hands of those who have not been prepared to govern,” he said.
The former Brazilian President has been in Brasilia since last Sunday, in search of alliances with center and right-wing parties, with a view to the 2022 presidential elections.
About turning 76 years old, Lula reiterated that he feels 30 years old and announced tours to several cities and visits to several countries in the world, especially in Europe.
He wants to meet with leaders of the European Parliament. He is organizing a plan that would include visits to Berlin, Brussels, Paris, and Spain, where he hopes to meet with the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, and with a group of businesspeople in Madrid.
One year before the elections, the former head of state is the heavy favorite for the 2022 presidential elections and would win with 44% of the votes, almost double the number of votes Bolsonaro would obtain (26%), according to a survey by the firm Datafolha released on September 17.