Former Brazilian president (2003-2010) Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who the polls indicate as the favorite to win in the 2022 presidential elections in Brazil, stressed the need to “act seriously” and “not claim victory before time” of face to those elections.
“Everything indicates that the PT (Workers’ Party, whose founder is Lula himself) has a good chance of winning the elections. We have to act seriously because there is no time for the elections, and then we cannot claim victory before time, “said the former president in an interview published this Friday by the Argentine newspaper Página 12.
The former Brazilian head of state is currently in Argentina to participate today in the celebrations of democracy day, an event that he will star in the company of the Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, and the former president (2007-2015) and current vice president of the country, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
CONFIDENCE IN ELECTORAL VICTORY
During the interview, Lula was confident about the possible electoral victory of the PT, a political formation that, in his opinion, “is capable of changing the situation in Brazil.”
“We cannot accept that a country the size of Brazil, which was the sixth largest economy in the world in my government, today is the thirteenth. We cannot accept that a country that ended hunger in 2012 sees today that the scourge is so strong: there are 19 million people who have nothing to eat, “he lamented.
The former union leader stressed that the PT has an “extraordinary political, economic and social inclusion legacy”, a circumstance that is valued by millions of Brazilians, despite the scant media interest that, in Lula’s opinion, arouses in his country of origin.
«I do not know if it is perceived in Argentina, but here I am the most censored on planet earth. Any candidate other than the PT, who has 1% in the polls, appears more on television than Lula, who has 46 or 47% intention to vote, “he criticized.
In case of winning the elections, Lula hopes that the current Brazilian president, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, will recognize the electoral result.
«What is going to happen in Brazil is a democratic coup: a great majority of the Brazilian people will reject Bolsonaro and will elect a progressive candidate. I hope to be me. I am convinced that we are going to win, “he said.
REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Likewise, Lula considered that it is possible to realize a second wave of leftist governments in Latin America, since the citizens of the region, he said, “are discovering that progressive sectors govern with a greater commitment to working people and the poor.”
“I believe that the progressive sectors can win in Chile, that we have many possibilities in Brazil, that Luis Arce’s was an extraordinary victory for Bolivia, Peru with Castillo …”, the former Brazilian president listed.
Regarding the integration between these new governments, Lula affirmed that the Puebla group “has a very important role,” adding that, if it comes to power in Brazil, it will also seek to “rebuild Mercosur.”
“I think that if the progressive leaders return to govern our countries, they will have the chance to recover Mercosur, to strengthen it and to strengthen Celac,” he predicted.
All this with the aim of ending conservative governments that, in Lula’s opinion, “destroyed everything” created by progressive executives in terms of “social welfare.”
RELATIONS WITH ARGENTINA
The former Brazilian head of state announced his arrival in Argentina on Thursday night, with a photograph published on his Twitter profile in which he appeared along with Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
In this sense, Lula appreciated the good relationship he has with the president and vice president of Argentina, a country with which Brazil must continue to cooperate.
«I have a special esteem for Argentina because I cannot conceive that Brazil grows alone. Brazil has to grow, Argentina has to grow, Uruguay the same, Paraguay, Bolivia… Because together we can be stronger, ”said the future candidate for the presidency of Brazil. EFE
