Lula starts “recruiting” for 2022 elections

Lula speaks to supporters. Photo: BW Press/Shutterstock

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has begun a round of negotiations with a view to building a stable coalition for the 2022 elections.

This morning, he met with rookie Senator Fabiano Contarato of Espírito Santo, asking him to ditch his current party, Rede, and join Lula’s Workers’ Party. In the 2018 election, Mr. Contarato — the Senate’s only openly homosexual member — beat the odds against veteran politicians and gained 1.1 million votes, more than any other Senate candidate.

Lula also spoke with Eunício Oliveira, a former senator from Ceará who remains a key figure in the Brazilian Democratic Movement party, a traditional power broker in Brazil.

The former president is sided by Fernando Haddad — the runner up in the 2018 presidential race — and former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim. Besides meetings with experienced politicians toward a potential alliance, Lula will also sit down with the British and Russian ambassadors to discuss vaccines.

On Monday, Lula met with German Ambassador Heiko Thoms, who reportedly expressed “concerns” around Brazil’s environmental stance under President Jair Bolsonaro.

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Débora Álvares

Débora Álvares has worked as a political reporter for newspapers Folha de S.Paulo, O Estado de S.Paulo, Globo News, HuffPost, among others. She specializes in reporting on Brasilia, working behind-the-scenes coverage at the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches of government.