We have to go to the outskirts and ask why they don’t want to talk to us, says Edinho Silva
The 8th Congress of PT ended this Sunday (April 26, 2026) with a common diagnosis among leaders of the party: the party has lost connection with part of its social base and will need to regain its presence in some sectors for the 2026 dispute.
In a tone of self-criticism, the president of the PT, , stated in a speech that the party has moved away from segments such as young people, residents of the outskirts and evangelicals. According to him, the advancement of social networks reduced the party’s presence at the base.
“There is no point in the PT being irritated with the peripheries”, these. “We have to have the humility to go to the outskirts and ask why residents don’t want to talk to us.”
The diagnosis exposed an internal concern about the loss of connection with the party’s traditional base. Edinho stated that the PT needs to review its way of acting and abandon a reactive position towards these segments: “The PT cannot be reactive when evangelical youth say they don’t want to talk to us. We have to have humility to understand why”.
The leader also cited the distancing of what he considers to be a new working class, such as app drivers and delivery people. According to him, the party needs to go to these groups to identify where it went wrong. The assessment is that, even with the government’s deliveries, the party faces difficulty in transforming results into political support.
“When the new working class, app drivers and delivery people, revolts with us, this generates indignation, but it must also generate humility so that we can go to them and ask where we are going wrong, if we want to represent them”, said Edinho in a speech
The president (PT) did not go to the event. He followed medical advice to avoid major events after removing a basal cell carcinoma (cancer) from the scalp.
He sent a video and appealed to activists. He said that the party needs to value the government’s deliveries, but also improve its ability to convince voters.
In a scolding tone, he demanded that the activists abandon their cell phones and take to the streets to engage in hand-to-hand politics. “Nothing beats having the courage to walk down the street, clap at people’s gates and look them in the eye,” declared.
Watch Lula’s video (5min12s):
Also read:
