The president (PT) refuted the view that he may be too old to run for re-election in 2026, stating that he maintains good health and physical condition. And he indicated that the main thing is to have competence and not to be young.
“Governing is not playing football, governing is not playing sports. In other words, it is not the problem of youth that will solve the problem of governance. What will solve the problem of governance is the competence of the ruler, it is the commitment of the ruler, It’s the ruler’s head, it’s the ruler’s health and commitments”, stated the President of the Republic.
The statements were made in an interview with CNN Internacional. The full interview aired this Friday (8).
Lula turned 79 years old last month. During the interview, he was asked why he put himself forward as a candidate for re-election in two years, despite his current age, instead of giving up to a new generation.
The president then refuted this view. He repeated his routine speech that he intends to live to 120 years old and that he takes care of his physical health and exercises. He then said that he is not a candidate for re-election and that the 2026 election will only be discussed in two years.
“See, I didn’t say that I’m a candidate for re-election in 2026. In 2026, I’m committed to delivering this country with a balanced economy, with economic growth, with job creation, with fewer illiterate people. That’s what I want deliver to this country. People drinking coffee, lunch and dinner every day, with access to specialist medicine”, he stated.
“Well, I’m going to leave 2026 to think about 2026. There are several parties that support me, I’m going to discuss this very soberly, very seriously”, he added.
Lula then repeated previous statements, stating that he will only be a candidate if he and his allies believe that he is the only name to defeat a possible far-right candidate. However, he said he hopes “it won’t be necessary.”
“So, if the time comes, the parties understand that there is no other candidate to face a person on the extreme right, who is a denialist, who doesn’t believe in medicine, who doesn’t believe in science, obviously I will be ready to face it. But I hope that it is not necessary. I hope that we have other candidates and that we can carry out a great political renewal in the country and in the world”, said the president.
Lula has repeated throughout his term that he is in good health and prepared to face all the challenges of the presidency of the Republic. He repeats on several occasions that he has a “young man’s boner”.
The issue of age was a central factor in the discussion at the start of the US elections, which weighed against the candidacy of 81-year-old Democrat Joe Biden. He ended up dropping out of the presidential race and was replaced by Kamala Harris.
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