Lula Says Workers’ Party May Not Field Presidential Candidate in 2022

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva conceded on Thursday, August 20th, that PT (Worker’s Party) may not launch a presidential candidate in 2022 as long as another opposition party presents a name with a better performance in opinion polls.

Lula’s statement was positively but cautiously noted by leaders of other left-wing parties. Within PT itself, the prospect of the party failing to have a presidential candidate for the first time since redemocratization is perceived as unlikely. Lula conceded that the PT may give up its party head in 2022 in an interview with journalist Fabio Pannunzio’s YouTube ‘TV Democracia’ channel.

“I think it’s entirely possible to have an election in which the PT has no candidate for president. The PT may have a candidate for vice-president, for another post. That’s entirely possible. You have to have a candidate with the ability to handle parties with the respect that parties deserve. It’s no use people wanting to fight with PT because PT will take on the fight, but it’s the largest left-wing party in Latin America,” Lula said.

The ex-president said he “deeply regrets” that PT is not part of a major alliance movement against Bolsonarism, but recalled that the party has come first or second in every election since 1989 and that it is dependent on a “major agreement” to give up its party leadership.

“People can not want PT to give up the greatness the Brazilian people offered it in exchange for nothing. Either [another party] introduces a greater candidate than PT or it doesn’t stand a chance. In order to get to the second round you have to go through the first. If you don’t make it through the first round, it’s over. Barcelona thought it was good, but lost 8-2 to Bayern Munich (in the semi-final of the European Champions League). You can not dispense with a party that has 30 percent at the start of a campaign, in exchange for what? You can’t give in to another party unless you have a major agreement,” Lula said.

For PT members, Lula ratified the party’s hegemony over the Brazilian left-wing

According to PT leaders and Lula’s advisors, this was not the first time the ex-president sketched such a scenario. Within the party, the interpretation was that Lula confirmed the PT position of hegemony on the left-wing more than he signaled a potential alliance with the other opposition forces.

Members of PT recall that on Wednesday, August 19th, in an interview with Folha de Pernambuco radio station, Lula conceded that he himself could be a candidate in 2022, should he succeed in regaining in court his right to run for office (by overturning his prior convictions for corruption and money laundering). Moreover, he was the main proponent of PT’s strategy of launching as many candidates as possible in this year’s municipal election.

Opposition leaders who have been working for years to build a broad front against Bolsonarism perceived Lula’s statement with optimism and caution. “The support of a progressive front is highly positive. I am very confident that we will join forces and win the next presidential election. As for the each party’s role, we still have time to discuss this,” said Flávio Dino, governor of Maranhão (PCdoB – Communist Party).

Juliano Medeiros, the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party) national president, also said there is still plenty of time until 2022. According to him, the opposition first needs to achieve good results in the municipal elections.

“The 2022 election is still far away and the opposition needs to achieve a good election result this year, and only then think about a presidential election. But it’s a good thing that ex-president Lula is detached from this, because he recognizes that a single party’s hegemony cycle on the left-wing is ended. In any event, electoral unity is only discussed on the basis of a country’s project, and major differences between the left and center-left parties persist,” he said.

In the over two-hour interview, Lula showed no regrets about the aggressive campaign against Marina Silva (Rede – Sustainability Network) in the re-election of Dilma Rousseff in 2014, and criticized Ciro Gomes (PDT – Democratic Labor Party). “Ciro should have stayed in Brazil and declared his support for (Fernando) Haddad (in the second round in 2018), but he preferred to go to Paris as a sign of rebellion,” Lula said.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo