Brasilian President Lula To Run Again

Brazilian President Lula to Run Again to ‘Protect Fatherland’ From Foreign Interference BRAZIL Brazil Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launched his bid for a fourth and final term in the upcoming presidential election over the weekend, casting the election as a choice between national independence and submission to foreign interests. The president, 80, also known as Lula, was officially confirmed as the candidate for the leftist Workers’ Party in October’s elections, in what will be his seventh race for the country’s top job. The election is expected to pit Lula against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after he lost the 2022 elections to Lula. Right-wing political leaders such as Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Argentina’s Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump have expressed support for Bolsonaro’s campaign. In a speech announcing his run, Lula promised to protect Brazil’s reserves of rare earths and other critical minerals from foreign control. “I want to be prepared, so that no one invades this country,” he said. He also warned against foreign interference in the election, particularly by the Trump administration, casting himself as the defender of the fatherland. For the past 18 months, Lula’s popular support has grown as Brazilians have soured on the Bolsonaros after the Trump administration, at their urging, imposed steep tariffs on Brazil and sanctioned its officials to protest the legal proceedings against Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro has requested the Trump administration delay its new tariffs on Brazil as he believes it will help Lula, a conclusion analysts agree with. More recently, while Lula is still ahead in the polls, the gap has narrowed significantly: One recent poll showed that 46 percent of Brazilian voters support the current president and 45 percent favor Bolsonaro. Other recent polls show Lula ahead by more than 10 percentage points if the Oct. 4 election goes to a second round, to be held on Oct. 25. That would occur if neither candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote. The election, meanwhile, is being closely watched across Latin America, where several countries including Peru, Colombia and Chile have recently ejected left-wing governments in favor of conservative leaders aligned with the US.