Mar 10, 2021, 6:20 PM
Word Count: 457
The former president stopped short of announcing plans to run in the 2022 election in his first speech after corruption convictions were annulled by a Supreme Court justice, clearing the way for his comeback.
“I don’t have time to think about a candidacy in 2022,” Lula said at a press conference on Wednesday. “That’s a discussion for the future.”
Lula added that he’s focused on uniting the left around a name for 2022, which didn’t happen in 2018.
If confirmed, the candidacy of the 75-year-old former president is likely to drive a wedge in a country already grappling with with another devastating wave of Covid-19 and its ensuing economic toll. It would also increase chances that moderates may be again squeezed out of the competition and could add to concern that Bolsonaro will abandon his market-friendly reform agenda and push for populist measures instead.