MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula likely to run for reelection, minister says

“The Brazilian people know that life has improved” under Lula, Pimenta insisted

Brazil's Social Communication Minister Paulo Pimenta said Thursday that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva intends to run for a fourth term in office in 2026, perhaps to dispel rumors about his health after undergoing another surgical procedure in his head. In an interview with CNN Brazil, Pimenta insisted that Lula was “the most qualified and prepared person” to continue leading the country.

Lula underwent emergency surgery Tuesday to drain a subdural hematoma resulting from a blow to the back of the head suffered on Oct. 19 at the Alvorada Palace, followed by an embolization Thursday to prevent further bleeding. Doctors believe the president will be discharged next week.

“President Lula is doing very well. This is a simple procedure. President Lula is a person who takes care of himself, who has demonstrated that constantly, with discipline. A person who knows Brazil and who is extremely prepared,” Pimenta stressed.

“I do not doubt that President Lula is the most qualified person, the most qualified. And he will be, with certainty, our candidate in 2026 to be able to maintain our project,” he added.

Pimenta also celebrated the latest Genial/Quaest poll published Thursday giving Lula da Silva a significant lead over all his possible rivals. “The Brazilian people know that life has improved and that it will improve even more with President Lula,” he underlined while criticizing opposition sectors spreading rumors about the president's health.

According to the medical bulletin released Thursday night by the Hospital Sírio-Libanês in Sao Paulo, the 79-year-old president would remain in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He was said to be “lucid and oriented, conversing normally, eating well, and receiving visits from family members.”

”In the morning, he underwent an endovascular procedure (embolization of the middle meningeal artery) and in the afternoon he underwent clinical tests and at the beginning of the night the intracranial drain was removed, without incident,“ the communiqué further stated. Lula's head physician Roberto Kalil Filho told reporters that it is likely that Lula could be discharged between Monday and Tuesday.

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Lula was ”super cheerful” during a telephone conversation he had with the head of State.