MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula should run for reelection in 2026, Haddad says

Haddad acknowledged that at some point the issue of Lula's succession will come up. “And I think there should be some concern about that”

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Wednesday that there was consensus among the ruling coalition that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should seek reelection in 2026.

“I believe there is a consensus within the PT and the allied base about President Lula's candidacy in 2026. In my opinion, it's something that's well settled. It's not up for debate,” said Haddad in an interview with the newspaper O Globo. “Lula has been president three times. He'll probably be a fourth,” he added.

Asked whether he would be succeeding Lula, Haddad dismissed the idea. “I don't think about it. And it only crossed my mind in 2018 because it was a situation in which nobody wanted to be Lula's vice president. And then, one day, he said: 'Haddad, I think there's just going to be the two of us'. Inside jail. I said: 'Think carefully before inviting me because I'm going to accept'. And it ended up happening,” he added.

However, Haddad acknowledged that at some point the issue of Lula's succession will come up. “And I think there should be some concern about that,” he concluded. Lula will be 81 in the next election. His decision to run will depend on the political context of the country at the time and also his health.

Ahead of the 2024 municipal elections, Lula's Workers' Party PT has released a booklet to fight fake news, particularly on social networks. The booklet recommends the creation of municipal centers to combat fake news.

With messages such as “lies cannot defeat democracy” and “fighting fake news is fundamental for us to have a real Democratic State of Law,” the PT gives tips on how to fight disinformation and cites attacks produced by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, particularly a mounted image of Adélio Bispo at a demonstration next to Lula.

Bispo stabbed Bolsonaro during the 2018 campaign and has been in jail since then. That year, Bolsonaro defeated Haddad while Lula was incarcerated.