The former president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has indicated that a 2022 presidential candidacy “is not a priority” for him and, although he has said that he could run “if he were healthy and necessary,” he stressed that the objective of the Workers’ Party (PT) in the elections must be to remove Jair Bolsonaro from power.
“If I were healthy and if necessary, I will be there to fight, but it is not my priority,” said Lula in an interview with the Portuguese television network RPT. “Now the PT has to place its leaders to work for the country,” he said, before emphasizing that “there is time for everything.”
“We cannot answer whether we are going to have a candidate now or not,” he stressed, while stating that by 2022 the PT will decide whether to present a candidate for the Presidency or whether it is part of a “broad front.”
“The only truth is that Bolsonaro cannot continue to govern Brazil,” explained the former president, who has accused the president of “creating disputes with all countries.”
The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil (TSF) annulled on March 9 the convictions against Lula da Silva related to the corruption scheme ‘Lava Jato’ and restored his political rights, so he could stand for election again of public office.
Lula was sentenced to twelve years and one month in prison for the crimes of passive corruption and money laundering for accepting the luxury triplex in Sao Paulo as payment from the construction company OAS for his political favors and entered prison on April 7, 2018 .
His conviction also meant that he was disqualified as a presidential candidate when he was the favorite in the polls for the presidential elections of October 7, 2018, which brought the far-right Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency.
