President demanded self-criticism and unity during celebration of the party’s 46th anniversary in Salvador
During the celebration of the 46th anniversary of the Workers’ Party (PT), held in Salvador, President Lula made a speech of demands and self-criticism. The PT member stated that “internal fights ended the PT”, questioning the loss of space in municipalities and demanding that the acronym stops “chasing error”.
Lula questioned the current size of party governanceciting the scenario in São Paulo, and warned that the acronym cannot “continue pursuing the error”. The president stated that the focus should be on strengthening the party institutionand not just his personal figure: “It’s not Lula who has to be strong. It’s the party that has to be strong.”
According to Lula, the main need of the PT is resume direct contact with the poorest population. “The PT needs to go to the outskirts and talk to the people,” he stated. He also highlighted the importance of dialoguing with the evangelical group, highlighting that 90% of this group receives benefits from the government. “We don’t need to wait for the pastor to speak well of us. We need to go there”, he added.
Results of your government
To defend the results of his current term, the president cited the drop in inflation, the rise in the Stock Exchange and the real increase in the minimum wage. He proposed a comparison between the three years of his current government and the previous seven years (under Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro), classifying the previous period as a “coup”.
Regarding the next elections, Lula stated that victory will depend on the “political narrative” and the fight against fake news. “This campaign has to start with the truth defeating the lie. We have to destroy every lie they tell,” he said.
Budget criticism
Lula took advantage of the celebration to criticize the secret budget. The PT member classified the mechanism as a “kidnapping of the executive’s budget”, citing values close to R$60 billion this year. However, the president regretted the stance of his own base: “The saddest thing is that the PT voted in favor.”
Despite criticism, Lula defended the maintenance of democratic institutions and stated that politics requires tactics and negotiation. “We don’t have to choose whether we want to win or whether we want to lose”, he pondered, recognizing that the party does not have hegemony in all states.
