President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said on Tuesday (18) that he may run for reelection in 2026 to avoid the return of “troglodytes” to the country’s government.
In an interview with CBN Radio, when asked if he intends to run for president in the next elections even at the age of 80, he replied that his priority is to fulfill what he promised to the Brazilian people in the time that remains of his term. Still, he did not rule out the possibility:
“When the time comes to discuss, there are a lot of good people to be candidates, I don’t need to be candidates. Now, pay attention to what I’m going to tell you, if it is necessary to be a candidate to prevent the troglodytes who governed from governing again, you can be sure that my 80 years will turn in 40 and I will be able to be a candidate,” said the PT candidate.
The president stressed, however, that re-election is not the first hypothesis, and that he will need to “think a lot” about it, considering his state of health.
“But it’s not the first hypothesis, we’re going to have to think a lot, I know I’m going to be 80 years old, I have to measure what my state of health is, what my physical endurance is, because I want to have responsibility for Brazil but I’m not going to allow this country to be governed by a fascist again,” he said, without directly mentioning former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). whom Lula openly calls a fascist.
“I’m not going to allow this country to be governed again by a denialist like we once had. This country needs a lot of truth to become the wonderful country that we have to build,” the president said.
Race in 2026 remains open
Lula’s party widely defends his candidacy for reelection, and he himself publicly admits that he would like to seek a new term. At an event in Rio Grande do Sul, for example, the president said he doesn’t want to die, because he still wants to “run for ten more elections.”
The dispute in 2026 remains open for now. The only certainty is that former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) will be out, since he was deemed ineligible until 2030 by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
Want to stay on top of the day’s top news? Click here and join our WhatsApp channel
