Vice-president made a gesture at the party congress, but his arrival on Lula’s ticket in 2022 was marked by resistance and criticism
Or vice-president (PSB) stated this Friday (April 24, 2026), during the 8th PT National Congress, that he was always treated with affection by PT members. The statement contrasts with the environment he faced when he agreed to be part of the presidential ticket with (PT) in 2022.
“I, who am not from the PT, have always been received with enormous affection and consideration. And the second is to say my loyalty to President Lula to work for the benefit of our population”Alckmin told an audience of PT members in Brasília (DF).
Internal resistance to the party’s announcement. In 2016, the then governor of São Paulo, who was in the PSDB, stated that the PT was the “rei do impeachment” and defended the case against (PT). He reinforced statements by other toucans, such as former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
To join the ticket in 2022, Alckmin had to leave the PSDB – the party through which he defeated the PT in the government of São Paulo and ran for president against Lula in 2006 – and join the PSB, which formally presented his candidacy for vice president.
The maneuver was necessary to circumvent electoral rules and give the alliance a center-left frame.
The resistance was intense enough that the decision had to be defended by Lula himself, who had to convince wings of the party about the strategic viability of the alliance. Adhesion, when it came, was more pragmatic than enthusiastic.
In the same speech, Alckmin also credited the president with the survival of Brazilian democracy, in reference to January 8th. “President Lula saved Brazil’s democracy. Trying to stage a coup, they failed.”
The vice president also cited the Mercosur-European Union agreement, which comes into force provisionally on May 1st, and the tax reform – which unifies 5 taxes. He compared the Lula government’s health policies with the previous period, criticizing the anti-vaccination campaign associated with the government of (PL) and the 720,000 deaths from Covid-19.
Alckmin’s presence at the PT congress was a gesture of loyalty to Lula’s political project, at a time when the government is evaluating its strategy for 2026.
