Last dance? Inside Lula’s strategy to win a fourth presidency in Brazil

What the report says

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has launched a campaign for an unprecedented fourth term, using a rally at the May 1 Stadium in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, as a symbolic return to the site where his political career began decades ago. According to Al Jazeera, Lula is now 80 and is seeking a non-consecutive fourth presidency after three prior terms, with voting scheduled for October 4 and a possible runoff if no candidate wins outright.

The article says Lula is entering the race in a more difficult political climate than in his earlier campaigns. Brazil has experienced stronger economic indicators during his current term, including solid GDP growth and low unemployment, but many voters remain frustrated by high living costs, debt, interest rates and concerns about public safety. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera argue that these pressures, rather than any simple regional ideological swing, have helped right-wing candidates gain ground across South America.

To counter those concerns, Lula’s government has leaned on policies such as credit expansion, tax relief, fuel subsidies and debt forgiveness, aiming to ease household strain. The story also notes that his traditional working-class base has changed, with fewer unionized workers and more people in informal or platform-based jobs, making older labor politics less effective.

His main challenge comes from Flavio Bolsonaro, a first-term senator and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Al Jazeera reports that the Lula-Bolsonaro rivalry remains central to Brazilian politics, while foreign policy has taken on extra weight because of the Bolsonaro family’s ties to Donald Trump and Trump’s criticism of Lula’s government.