The governor of Santa Catarina, (PL), responded this Sunday (June 28, 2026) to the president’s (PT) statements about the State. In a publication on X, the governor shared news that points to Santa Catarina as the unit of the Federation with the lowest income inequality in the country.
“The State accused of considering itself superior by President Lula is the place where there is the least social inequality in the country. Now, try to imagine where the greatest is…”he wrote.
According to the IBGE (National Household Sample Survey), the largest in the country is registered in the Federal District. While the richest 10% of the employed population receive, on average, R$18,500 per month, the lowest-income 40% have an average income of R$941.
Lula criticizes Santa Catarina
Lula’s statements were made on Friday (June 26, 2026), in Itajaí (SC), where he monitored the work on offshore support vessels contracted by Petrobras.
The president said you can’t “allow racism to prevail in Santa Catarina”. He also stated that it cannot be tolerated “this idea of white hegemony over the rest of the country”.
When talking about the topic, Lula cited Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler (1889–1945):
“There isn’t a guy who is white and is better than a guy who is black, a guy who is from the Northeast is worse than someone from the South of the country. What is this story? Hitler tried to do that and it ended the way it did. We cannot allow this idea of white hegemony over the rest of the country.”
The statements were made when criticizing Jorginho Mello’s absence from federal government events in Santa Catarina. According to Lula, the governor stopped establishing partnerships with the Union due to political differences.
Mello is an ally of the senator (PL-RJ), a pre-candidate for President. Lula classified the governor’s absence as “lack of respect”.
