President spoke to medalists from the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad; advocated for young people to participate in public life
The president said this Monday (June 22, 2026), during the Awards of the 20th OBMEP (Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad), that students should not give up on politics even in the face of the perception that there is corruption in public activity. The ceremony was held in Rio de Janeiro and brought together the 684 gold medalists from the 2025 edition of the Olympics.
“When you see it on television and you come to the conclusion that every politician is a thief, still, don’t be discouraged.”, Lula told the students.
Afterwards, the president stated that young people must participate in politics to renew public life.
“Get into politics, because the honest politician you want is within you, not within me, not within him”, he declared, referring to one of the photographers present at the event.
The speech was made during the closing of Lula’s speech. The president took the opportunity to praise public education. He said his government expanded access to university and created equal opportunities for students from different social backgrounds.
According to him, OBMEP –created during his first term in 2005– helped demonstrate the potential of public school students, as it created the “incentive” for low-income youth to become interested in mathematics.
Lula also criticized what he called Brazil’s historical neglect of education. According to him, for a long time it was considered that poorer people did not need to study and should only do manual work. The president stated that any profession is important, but said that the State must ensure that everyone is able to compete “the best vacancies” at universities.
At another point, Lula said that investment in education is a condition for the country’s development. “There is no country in the history of humanity that developed without first investing in education”, he stated.
The PT member also encouraged students not to give up when faced with difficulties and said that everyone can “be whatever you want”.
