At lunch with allied parliamentarians and with the Senate President, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Wednesday (13) that it is essential for him to win in the first round of the elections so that threats of democratic rupture promoted by Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and allies do not prosper.
To this end, according to reports from people who took part in the conversation, Lula stated that he and his party, PT ( worker's party), are seeking formal support in the first round from almost the entire so-called third way — not only from Gilberto Kassab's PSD and Simone Tebet's MDB, but also from Luciano Bivar's União Brasil. In the latest Datafolha poll, from June 22 and 23, Lula had 53% of all the valid votes. To win in the first round, the candidate must add up to 50% of the valid votes plus one.
Lula was this Tuesday (12) and Wednesday in Brasília and participated in several political meetings, the main one being lunch with Pacheco and allied parliamentarians, at the official residence of the Senate presidency. According to the report of the parliamentarians who participated in the conversation with Lula, the PT candidate stated that in a normal scenario he would even prefer a dispute with two rounds, which allows the two candidates in the final stretch more opportunities for debate and discussion of their programs. This time, however, a first-round victory would be crucial. The possibility of the threat of democratic rupture was the central topic of the lunch itself.
The formal goal of the meeting was to obtain from Pacheco a political guarantee that he will be in the front line for the defense that the elections will be carried out without mishaps and that the elected candidates will be sworn in.
Bolsonaro has already made repeated coup-related attacks against the electoral system and has made it clear, as well as his allies, that he may question any results other than his victory.
Translated by Cassy Dias