Brazil: Lula da Silva admits for the first time the possibility of running for re-election in 2026

Exactly one month after assuming the presidency, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva admitted on Thursday the possibility of running for re-election in 2026, depending on the “situation of the country.

In 2022, before the October election, Lula said he would not seek another election if he beat Jair Bolsonaro – “if elected, I will be president for only one term,” he said.

The president is considering a candidacy in 2026 under health and Brazil’s scenario.

“If the moment comes, if there is a delicate situation and I am healthy, I can [run],” Lula signaled in an interview with columnist Kennedy Alencar.

He joked, “But in perfect health, with the energy of 40 and the horniness of 30.”

In September of last year, during a campaign event in which he received the support of Toucans, he emphatically announced that he would not run for another term.

“Everyone knows that an 81-year-old citizen can’t seek reelection. Nature is implacable,” emphasized Lula, 76, on occasion.

The president turned 77 in October and will be 81 in 2026.

He is already considering alternative names for a future election and has listed some allies: Rui Costa, Camilo Santana, Flávio Dino, and Renan Filho.

“We have Rui Costa (Minister of the Civil House, from the PT), Wellington (Dias, Minister of Social Development, from the PT), Camilo (Santana, Minister of Education, from the PT), Flávio Dino (Minister of Justice, from the PSB), Renanzinho (Renan Filho, Minister of Transportation, from the MDB),” Lula said during the interview.

Last month, Rui Costa had already said he was considering the possibility of Lula seeking re-election.

“You are starting from a fait accompli that Lula will not run for election (…). I don’t start from this fait accompli,” said the minister, one of the president’s most loyal allies, in an interview on Roda Viva.

Then, when asked about Lula’s promise not to run for office again, Costa reaffirmed the possibility that the PT member will not leave power in 2026:

“Lula spoke from the heart considering his trajectory and return to consolidate democracy. But, if everything goes right, we will have a successful government. And if Lula continues with the energy and enthusiasm of 20 years, who knows, maybe he will have another term.”

Although not mentioned by Lula yesterday, the name considered natural in the PT for succession is that of Fernando Haddad, who contested the 2018 presidential election for the party when Lula was in prison.

Haddad has been appointed to a top government post, the Ministry of Finance, which will testify to his electoral claims.

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, also on the list, was left off Lula’s list.

The choice of the former congressman to coordinate the government’s transition team provoked uneasiness in the PT, which fears precisely the projection of Alckmin.

The same happened in relation to former senator Simone Tebet (MDB-MS), who wanted to take on the Ministry of Social Development, responsible for the Bolsa Família Program.

Under pressure from the PT, Tebet was appointed to the Ministry of Planning.

The Ministry of Social Development, with a strong electoral appeal, was occupied by senator-elect Wellington Dias (PT-PI).

Tebet competed in last year’s presidential election and finished in third place.

Her support for Lula in the second round was fundamental to the PT’s victory.

With information from Exame

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