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Brazil: Geraldo Alckmin, the “Catholic conservative” who allies with Lula against Bolsonaro

Lula now gives him “comrade Geraldo”. Because here they are allies, sixteen years after having clashed at the polls. Geraldo Alckmin, 69, will be the running mate of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who governed Brazil between 2003 and 2011 and is in the lead for the presidential election on October 2 against Jair Bolsonaro. After the cancellation of his convictions for corruption, the candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT) regained his eligibility. And the ardor with which this tenor of the right exalts her now ready to smile.

At his side during a rally on April 14, he became hoarse from chanting “Vive Lula” and flattering the unions with which this former governor of the powerful state of São Paulo had an execrable relationship. Despite a long political career, this austere provincial doctor with the false airs of Jacques Chirac is not used to haranguing crowds.

When their pre-campaign kicked off on May 7, he joked about his supposed lack of charisma, which earned him the nickname “chayote popsicle”, that is to say chayote ice cream, a tasteless vegetable. In Brazilian, Lula, diminutive of Luiz, also means squid. “Squid goes well with chayote, this dish could even become the ‘hit’ of our kitchen”, launched “Geraldo”, before adding: “When Lula held out his hand to me, I saw , beyond the gesture of reconciliation between two historical adversaries, an appeal to reason. He alone is capable of guaranteeing alternation, and therefore the maintenance of democracy, which will be put to the test in the next elections”. Won over, the audience gave him a standing ovation. The reservations inspired by this “neoliberal”, “ultraconservative” PT seemed suddenly forgotten.

photo media_content"><img xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" data-optimumx="1.5" data-sizes="auto" alt="L'ancien président Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, le 7 mai 2022 à Sao Paulo" class="article__item–img loading_medium lazyload lazy img_resp_full media_content_full" src="data:image/svg+xml;utf8,

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, May 7, 2022 in Sao Paulo

afp.com/NELSON ALMEIDA

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