The President (PT) said on Friday (18) that he should be a candidate for reelection in 2026 to prevent the return to power of what he called the “band of crazy”, in reference to the former president’s political group ().
“I will not deliver this country back to that bunch of freaks that almost destroy this country in recent years. They will not be back, they may be certain of this,” he said during an event in Mission Velha, Ceará, 535 kilometers from Fortaleza. “They won’t come back, it’s not because Lula doesn’t want to, it’s because you won’t let them come back.”
“If I have the health I am today, with the disposition that I am today, you can be sure that I will be a candidate again to win elections in this country,” Lula said, at an event held after the president visits one of the finished passages of the transnordestine railroad in Ceará.
On Friday morning, before Lula’s event, the Federal Police, targeted on charges of leading the 2022 coup plot, as well as other investigations. The former president will have to use by determination of the minister, the (Supreme Federal Court).
The president, however, did not commented on the operation. In Ceará, the petista said he will decide whether to be a candidate for reelection only next year. “I will only decide if I will be a candidate next year, because I have to talk to my own conscience and talk to you.”
Lula’s speech about the 2026 elections happens a day after showing that, in second -round simulations of the 2026 election, he leads to all competitors and maintains a technical draw only with the governor of Sao Paulo, (Republicans) —41% to 37% in favor of the petista. The draw between them is at the maximum limit of the research margin of the research, which is two percentage points, to more or less.
In May, in the dispute between Lula and Bolsonaro, both marked 41%. Now, the current president has 43% compared to 37% of the opponent. Bolsonaro, in turn, although acting as if he was in the match, because of convictions in the Electoral Court.
The crisis of tariffs decreed by the government of Brazilian products and gave it a breath to Lula that was also reflected in its evaluation – with the negative index ranging from 43% to 40%, compared to 28% positive evaluation. There are also another 28% that evaluate the government as regular, and 4% say they do not know how to answer.
During the ceremony ceremony, the government announced new features for the railroad’s work, as well as debuting the Mission Velha stretch. Lula was accompanied by Governor Elmano de Freitas (PT) and ministers Camilo Santana (Education) and Renan Filho (Transportes), among others.
According to the Federal Government, the beginning of transnordestine operation is scheduled for the end of 2025, with the first cargo transports leaving Piauí to the center-south region of Ceará and some regions of Pernambuco. In all, the railroad is 1,209 km long and goes through 53 municipalities.
