Lula’s campaign confusion could play into Bolsonaro’s hands

The Workers’ Party is set to officially launch Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s presidential candidacy on May 7. The ceremony is a mere formality, however, as the former president has been clear about his desire to return to the top job since the Supreme Court quashed his corruption and money-laundering convictions just over a year ago. 

At the end of 2021, Lula loyalists believed the official launch of his presidential bid would be the beginning of one of the least contested races for the presidency in recent memory. Incumbent far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was flagging in the polls and posting pedestrian approval ratings, while Lula seemed unstoppable. However, with Mr. Bolsonaro seeing a popularity surge as of late, Saturday’s event will be laced with an unexpected sense of unease.

Lula’s polling lead has narrowed, and the election seems much closer than it did just months ago. And the former president’s allies are worried that he may be losing the communications war to his far-right nemesis. Even within the left, there is a belief that Lula’s way of addressing voters has become stale, outdated, and ad hoc.

In something of an admission of recent mistakes, the Workers Party fired Lula’s campaign manager — but has yet to officially appoint a replacement.

One clear example of the messaging struggles plaguing the Lula campaign concerns the 2017 labor reform. Adored by the markets but lambasted by the left, the measure loosened workers’ protections while promising major job creation in return — which has not been the case. The Workers’ Party first called for the reform to be repealed, before saying it merely needed to be reassessed — but then switched back to demanding the...