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Simone Tebet, Brazilian senator and third candidate by number of votes in the presidential elections on October 2, announced her support for former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the second round elections, which will take place on October 30. in one of the most polarizing moments in Brazilian history.
Brazilian politician Simone Tebet assured that some colleagues in her party asked her to remain neutral with her position, however, she said that due to the “so serious” situation in the history of her country, she cannot remain impartial.
“I will give my vote to Lula because I recognize his commitment to democracy and the Constitution, which I do not know about the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is running for re-election,” the senator said from a hotel in Sao Paulo.
Tibet surprised last Sunday at the polls after obtaining almost five million votes (4.16%), which could be decisive for Lula, who achieved 48.4% at the polls, against 43.2% for the current president Jair Bolsonaro.
The leader of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) said that she will continue to campaign for Lula until October 30, because she believes that Brazil “needs to be rebuilt after almost four years of the Bolsonaro government, in which the country was abandoned in the bonfire of hate and denial of the coronavirus pandemic.”
#Now | Simone Tebet, placed third in the first round of the presidential elections, declares her support for Lula da Silva for the balojate.
“I recognize in the candidate Lula the commitment to democracy and the Constitution, which I do not recognize in the current president” @teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/SYUxURLafN
– André Vieira (@AndreteleSUR) October 5, 2022
Despite the support for Lula, he marked his differences and reiterated his criticism of Lula from the first round for “not presenting concrete proposals to solve the problems facing the country.” Tebet invited Lula to link several of his ideas to the plan of proposals for this second round.
The center-right leader proposes to eliminate the waiting list in early childhood education, end exams to enter educational institutions, solve health problems and give economic relief to families with more debts.
In addition, Tebet asked Lula to form a cabinet “plural, with men, women, blacks, people with disabilities, with competence, ethics and the will to serve” as requirements.
To the backing of the MDB senator for Lula, other politicians are added, such as former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and some political parties that have shown their support for the standard-bearer of the Workers’ Party (PT).
“In this second round I vote for a history of struggle for democracy and social inclusion. I vote for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,” said Cardoso, 91.
“Thank you for your vote and trust. Brazil needs dialogue and peace”, expressed Lula when it became known that Cardoso, her opponent for the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in the 1994 and 1998 elections, would announce her support in this second round.
Lula also won the support of the fourth candidate in the first round of the elections, Ciro Gomes, who obtained 3.04% of the vote. Despite being one of his biggest critics in the campaign, Gomes followed the decision made by his party, the Labor Democrats.
For his part, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro has also received new support after obtaining more votes than expected in the polls for the first round. The governors of the three largest states in Brazil – Sao Paulo, Mina Gerais and Rio de Janeiro – announced their support in the elections for the current president of Brazil.
With EFE and local media
