At the end of Lula’s 3rd term, however, the party will have ruled the country for around 17 and a half years since 2000
O rehearsed at the party’s 8th Congress, this Sunday (April 26, 2026), a repositioning by claiming the field for itself “anti-system”exploited by right-wing wings in recent years. The party’s president, , stated that the party needs to once again present itself as an alternative to the current political model and compete for this space.
“The anti-system response is on the left, it is not on the right and it is not in fascism. The anti-system response is with us. And the manifesto says so. And we have to come out from tomorrow saying that this is the PT’s position”, said in the closing speech of the 8th PT National Congress, held at Brasil 21, in Brasília.
According to Edinho, the of the PT approved in congress reinforces this position of the party. The party once again questions the functioning of the political system, defending electoral reform and greater centrality of party programs, in addition to proposing changes in the Judiciary, the economic system and the relationship between the State and the market. Here’s the (PDF – 172 kB).
During the speech, Edinho also defended that the party resumes its structural criticism of the political system and reorganizes the debate around projects.
“We want to know what the PL thinks for Brazil. We want to know what the parties that feed fascism think for the country so that we can say what project for Brazil the PT defends”he declared, mentioning the caption of the former president .
The use of “anti-system” by the PT is part of a repositioning strategy adopted throughout 2026, given the deterioration of Congress and the Supreme Court with public opinion. The movement also seeks to distance the party from recent episodes that exposed tensions for Lula – such as the case involving Banco Master.
“We cannot be in favor of a political system that transforms negotiation between the Executive and Legislative branches into a business and negotiation counter. This political model is not ours”, said the president of the acronym.
Fernando Haddad and Edinho Silva (with their arms raised) at the closing of the PT congress, in Brasília
In February 2026, Edinho who wants to position the caption as a “anti-system party”.
According to him, the challenge is “capture this feeling of outrage, of change”. The PT president stated that Lula’s government is “the anti-system government”.
Leaders say that the idea is not to deny experience in power, but to rescue the party’s origins as a force for contestation.
At the end of Lula’s 3rd term, the PT will have commanded the country for around 17 and a half years old since 2000.
The PT was founded in the 1980s with a discourse of institutional rupture and defense of structural reforms – flags that, according to PT leaders, would have been diluted over time in the name of governability.
The president (PT) had already stated that the left “became the system”. The statement was made at the Forum in Defense of Democracy, in Spain. According to the president, part of this field lost coherence over time.
“Left-wing governments win elections with the speech of other left-wing governments and practice austerity. They give up public policies in the name of governability. We have become the system. Therefore, it is not surprising now that the other side presents itself as anti-system”, declared Lula in a speech – which was shown at the PT Congress for militancy.
At the same event, the PT candidate for the government of São Paulo, (PT), .
“It has only brought chaos to this country, since always, because they sell themselves as anti-system and have been carrying out the worst politics in the country’s history for 30 years. From the splits to the genocide of the pandemic, they are always on the side of destruction”he declared.
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