During an interview this Wednesday (8), the president (PT) once again left his candidacy for President open in this year’s elections — which until now, had been taken for granted.
“I say that I haven’t decided to be a candidate yet, but the fact is that there will be a convention in the middle of June and I, in order to decide to be a candidate, will have to present a program, something new for this country. Something so that we don’t just end up with ‘one term comes in, puts an end to hunger, leaves, comes back and hunger is back again'”, he said, in an interview with ICL Notícias.
Following his speech, the president was asked whether he could no longer be considered a pre-candidate, which he avoided saying. “Everyone knows that it is unlikely that I will stop being a candidate. Because there will be a convention in June and we will try,” he replied.
“I want and I will plead the need for us to rebuild a strong political alliance so that we do not allow fascists to rule this country again. This is the role I have to play now. What advantage do I have? I have an accumulation of experience that no one has in this country.”
The president was elected promising that he would not run for a new term. After taking office, however, he began to say that he was considering running again. In public statements, he stated that the candidacy would depend on being in good health. The president will turn 81 in October.
Also in the interview, Lula criticized other pre-candidates, such as (-RJ) and ().
A survey by Meio Ideia, released this Wednesday, showed that Lula and Flávio in a second round simulation for the 2026 presidential election. According to the survey, 51.4% of Brazilian voters say they can still change candidates by October.
In the direct confrontation, Flávio scores 45.8%, compared to 45.5% for Lula — the senator appears numerically ahead, but the difference of 0.3 points is within the margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. Whites, null and undecided total 8.7%.
