Overview
- The Partido dos Trabalhadores formally nominated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as its presidential candidate with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin as running mate at a São Paulo convention on Sunday, Aug. 2.
- Lula used the launch to pledge higher defense spending and a stronger role for the state over strategic resources, casting sovereignty as a central campaign theme.
- The PT announced a broad coalition of six to seven allied parties to back the ticket, aiming to present unified support against a fragmented right aligned with Flávio Bolsonaro.
- Recent Datafolha polling gives Lula an edge in a hypothetical second round, about 48% to 43%, even as the campaign must confront slowing GDP forecasts, high interest rates near 14.25%, a fiscal deficit close to 10% of GDP, and rising public debt.
- The Supreme Court has authorized probes into Lula’s eldest son, Fábio Luís 'Lulinha', and parties must register candidacies with the electoral court by Aug. 15 before official campaigning begins on Aug. 16 ahead of the Oct. 4 first round.