“I have changed, Alckmin has changed and Brazil has changed. I was Alckmin’s opponent, not his enemy. Lucky was the Brazil that had a dispute between two democratic parties because there was a civilized debate about the government program,” Lula explained in an interview with Radio T from the southern state of Paraná.
He specified that there will be a meeting on April 8th where the PSB will propose Alckmin as vice-president and “we will take him to the PT (Workers’ Party) to discuss it. If we are together, we will rebuild Brazil because we are two democrats,” he noted.
Recently Alckmin also praised his old adversary. When affiliated with the PSB last month, the ex-governor of Sao Paulo declared that Lula “represents democracy itself”.
On Radio Paraná, Lula also commented that the country does not currently have full democracy and President Jair Bolsonaro attacks her and the press every day.
“Brazil needs someone to harmonize the country. This promotes peace, unity, small and micro entrepreneurs. This is what Brazil needs to become a great nation,” he reiterated.
Faced with other questions, Lula dismissed the possibility that former head of state Dilma Rousseff could join a possible government of hers as a minister if she wins the upcoming elections.
“I don’t think making a president your minister will work, you’re going to make him a lower figure than you on the scale of authority. The tendency is to create problems; I don’t work with that hypothesis,” he mused.
He insisted he wouldn’t be comfortable bossing him around. “It’s very difficult, she knows it,” he said.
The day before, the former union leader had warned that if he won the Oct. 2 election, he would withdraw from the federal administration those military officers who hold commissioned positions.
“We must establish the government knowing that we must withdraw nearly 8,000 soldiers who are in positions held by individuals who have not presented competitions,” he said in a statement released during an event hosted by the workers’ Unified Headquarters in Sao Paulo was published.
He clarified that “this cannot be a reason for showing off, it has to be a reason for building,” he noted.
Similarly, in his speech Monday, Lula warned of a complicated campaign and asked not to get carried away with optimism.
«It won’t be easy, it’s not a won war; It’s a war we can win,” said the man, who appears as the favorite for the vote in all opinion polls after regaining his political rights in March 2021.
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