Workers Party sticks with Lula
Brazil’s main leftist party said yesterday it’s sticking with former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as its presidential candidate even though the electoral court has thrown him off the ballot for an election just five weeks away.
Da Silva’s vice presidential running mate, former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad told reporters the Workers Party will continue pushing to somehow get da Silva, 72, who easily leads in the polls, back on the ballot.
‘‘The people are sovereign regarding the party’s candidate. And that candidate is Lula,’’ Haddad said.
That strategy would keep da Silva in the spotlight until the absolute last minute, perhaps rallying support from backers that could then be transferred to a stand-in, likely Haddad, who is much less popular or charismatic.
The electoral court voted 6-1 yesterday to reject da Silva’s candidacy because of a corruption conviction that has been upheld on appeal. Da Silva and the party are appealing both the conviction and the electoral court ruling.
The ruling had been widely expected and there were no immediate street protests of the sort that occurred when the former president was initially arrested. Da Silva, who was wildly popular when he left office on January 1, 2011, is now a sharply polarising figure. Many Brazilians still revere him for pulling millions from poverty during his eight years in power.
But he and the Workers’ Party have lost much of that appeal over the last several years due to a stumbling economy under his hand-picked successor Dilma Rousseff and a sprawling corruption probe that has ensnared many top businessmen and politicians, including da Silva.
That division was clear in the reaction to the electoral court ruling. ‘‘We have a big debt with Lula,’’ said Thiago Renato, a 39-year-old IT specialist in the northeastern city of Recife.
‘‘We trust him here. I will vote for whoever he endorses because then I will know who will have the biggest impact for the poor,’’ he added.
‘‘I know Haddad, but I don’t know him well. If he is the candidate, he will have my vote.’’
At a Sao Paulo coffee shop, Alexandre Fonseca- 21 year old medical student, called the court decision an ‘‘unfortunate and fully expected ruling,’’ one unlikely to be overturned on appeal.