Deputy states that parties from the allied base do not have a plan B for the next presidential election; will take over as PT leader in the Chamber from February
The 55-year-old federal deputy (PT-RJ) said that the president (PT) is the the only really competitive name on the left to win the 2026 presidential elections. For the congressman, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), is preparing to enter the next dispute if the PT member gives up.
The deputy stated that, if the PT member decides not to run for re-election, the government will have great difficulty in keeping the allied base cohesive around a successor. He said that centrist parties, such as the PSD, União Brasil and MDB, tend to migrate to center-right or right-wing candidacies.
“If Lula is not a candidate, this is the hypothesis that we do not want to discuss at all. It is very difficult, in a scenario like this, to maintain a consistent alliance and win the election”, said in an interview with Poder360.
Lula will be 80 years old during the 2026 election campaign and 81 if he wins the election. In the last 2 years, health problems have disrupted the president’s routine and traveling to international summits. Asked whether the PT member will be able to be a candidate because of his age, Lindbergh said that Lula will be “whole”.
“Lula is in very good health, has a lucidity, an intelligence that impresses me. Impressive disposition, he does gymnastics early now that he is recovering. So, he will be there in one piece,” these.
Watch the interview (56m29sec):
For Lindbergh, Tarcísio could be a candidate for President in 2026 if Lula withdraws from the election. If the PT member runs for president, the governor of São Paulo must postpone his plan for 2030 and run for a new term as state government. Tarcísio is an ally of the former president (PL), who is ineligible.
“My assessment, unfortunately, is that the scenario is very difficult. We are going to lose a base and the scenario is Tarcísio as a candidate. And with Tarcísio as a candidate, there won’t be many applications. [de direita]okay? If Lula is not a candidate, it will be very difficult for us because the right is organizing itself. And we know that, if Lula is not a candidate, what will happen is that there will be a stampede of parties that used the government’s base through an operation with Tarcísio. So, I think the big dispute is Lula and Tarcísio”, these.
According to the Poder360 found out, Lula said at the ministerial meeting on Monday (20.jan.2025) that he may not run for re-election in 2026. The ministers present at the meeting, however, understood the speech as a rhetorical resource and that the PT member will indeed be a candidate in the next year.
In the opening speech of the meeting, Lula wants to elect a government in 2026 so that Brazil “carry on with democracy”without the return of “neo-nazism”. He said, at the time, that it is necessary to leave this desire in “loud and clear” not to “deliver” the country “back to neofascism, neo-Nazism and authoritarianism”, in reference to Bolsonaro’s government.
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For Lindbergh, the Ministers of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and Education, Camilo Santana, are the main names considered by the PT to succeed Lula as President.
“But this has to be for 2030. Or Camilo, or Haddad, or whatever names come up. Because 2026 has to be Lula. There is no plan B. We know that to win this election, it has to be Lula”, these.
Lindbergh also said that the right has a problem with the possible trial that Bolsonaro will face in the (Supreme Federal Court). The former president, the former Minister of Defense and General Braga Netto and 37 other people by the Federal Police in November for a coup d’état, for violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and for joining a criminal organization. Bolsonaro had already been indicted for criminal organization in the jewelry investigations and the Covid-19 vaccine card fraud.
“Bolsonaro will be tried and will be arrested. There’s no way. I read all the Federal Police reports. There is proof and more proof. He will be convicted of a coup d’état, but will also be convicted of stealing the jewels. And it’s the kind of thing that will have a big impact on society. The Supreme Court’s judgment will be broadcast,” these.
Lindbergh stated that the possible trial will have repercussions on the 2026 electoral scenario and could affect Tarcísio.
