MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula warns Bolsonarism will continue to exist

“It is not possible that we have people, as in Bolsonarism, wanting to build white supremacy,” Lula argued

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva has warned that even if he beats the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in next Sunday's elections or in the Oct. 30 runoff, the far-right movement sparked by the retired Army captain (Bolsonarismo) “will continue to exist.”

With the precedent of former Sao Paulo Mayor Paulo Maluf, Lula explained that “when we thought Malufism was over, Malufism did not end, because Maluf was very strong. And this will serve as a lesson for us. We will defeat Bolsonaro, but Bolsonaro will continue to exist,” Lula argued.

“And we have to defeat them. Defeat them in the political debate, in the healthy discussion so that society cannot understand that the country can have people of their ilk governing this country or doing politics,” the PT leader went on.

Lula also announced that even if he wins next month he would not seek reelection. ”I said something that is politically imprudent, but everyone knows that I have four years to do it. Everyone knows that it is not possible for an 81-year-old citizen to want reelection (...). Nature is implacable,“ he said.

The former president will turn 77 years on Oct. 27 and, if elected, he will be 81 years old at the end of his term in 2026.

Lula also addressed sports institutions to ”train professional soccer players with a social conscience“ and warned about the advance of racism in sports. He asked clubs to ”promote social awareness“ among children and adolescents in the lower divisions.

”I am sad because we live in a time of very violent racism, perhaps racism facilitated by cell phones. Although these devices are very important, they hide the criminals, the haters, the prejudiced,“ argued Lula.

He then added that he was ”very proud“ that ”kids from the slums can win in life and that the first thing they do is to buy a house for their mother“.

”It seems to me that it would be good for these children to have a social conscience to pass it on to society. It is not possible that we have people, as in Bolsonarism, wanting to build white supremacy.”