At 80, Brazil’s Lula launches campaign for fourth term to face Bolsonaro’s son
Leftist icon vows to protect critical minerals from foreign control as election battle against far-right rival looms
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, said on Sunday he was “in great shape” as he launched his candidacy for October elections, with pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration looming over the campaign.
A titan of the Latin American left, Lula is seeking a fourth and final term in office in a campaign casting him as a safe pair of hands in turbulent times and a bulwark against the global rise of the far-right.
While no one mentioned Trump by name at the Workers’ Party (PT) convention in Sao Paulo, Lula and fellow leftist heavyweights leaned heavily on the theme of protecting Brazil’s sovereignty from outside threats, amid trade and diplomatic spats with Washington.
“I want to be prepared so that no one invades this country,” Lula said, urging greater investment in defence.
The former metalworker and union leader made a dramatic comeback when he returned to power three years ago after a stint in jail on corruption convictions that were later annulled, having previously governed from 2003-2010.
He is loved and despised in near-equal measure in Brazil and won his last election by a razor-thin margin.