Lula da Silva says Brazil will grow based on predictability and credibility

Brazil’s former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT, left) in October’s general elections, said Thursday that if he wins, economic growth will be predictable, stable, and credible for domestic and foreign investors.

In an interview with Jornal Nacional, the main evening news program of the Globo television network, the former president pointed to the positive results of his two terms in office between 2003 and 2010.

He stressed that Geraldo Alckmin, former governor of São Paulo and former political opponent, would join him on the vice presidential ticket.

“There are three magic words to govern this country: Predictability, stability, and credibility. Predictability serves to ensure that no one is caught off guard. And never in the history of this country have we had a team like Lula da Silva and Geraldo Alckmin that guarantees credibility,” he stressed.

When asked about the Brazilian economic situation and fiscal risks, Lula da Silva recalled the difficult financial situation and high inflation when he took office in 2003 and enumerated the achievements in employment, stability, and income distribution.

The PT candidate leads the polls with 44 to 47 percent of the vote, followed by current President Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL), who has between 34 and 38 percent of the vote.

During Thursday’s interview, Lula da Silva was asked several times about corruption charges against his government that led to the conviction of dozens of business people, politicians, and officials from state oil company Petrobras.

Da Silva was convicted and served 580 days in prison between 2018 and 2019. Last April, however, the Supreme Court overturned the sentence, saying former judge Sergio Moro, who convicted him, had been biased.

Regarding a possible new mandate, the former president said, “There will be no hypothesis that anyone commits a crime, no matter how small or big it is.”

“What is bad is when corruption remains hidden. That’s why I think a free press and an efficient judicial system are important because if someone has a corruption problem, it must be denounced,” he stressed.

Regarding foreign policy, he said that as a democrat, he advocates respecting the self-determination of peoples and each country’s decision about its own government.

“If I win the elections, you will see how many friends will come back and visit Brazil because Brazil will be a friend to the whole world. No country has a quarrel with Brazil,” he said.

In his closing remarks, the former president once again referred to his achievements in the social and educational sectors during his term.

“I am proud to have gone down in history as the president who built the most universities and technical schools. We increased the number of university students from 3.5 million to 8 million. No country has become rich without investing in education,” he said.

“I don’t like the word ‘govern,’ I prefer to use the word ‘care.’ This is the country of the future that we have to build. We will reinvest in job creation,” he said.

Finally, Lula da Silva said he would help people renegotiate the debts of Brazilian families because nearly 70 percent of them are in debt, many headed by women.

“We will negotiate these debts in the private sector and the financial system because we must allow Brazilians to live with dignity,” he stressed.

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