Overview
- Lula announced at a cabinet meeting Tuesday that Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will again be his running mate and will leave the industry ministry to meet election rules.
- Brazil’s electoral law requires cabinet ministers who plan to run to step down by April 4 to be eligible for the October vote.
- Recent surveys show the contest tightening, with a March 6 Datafolha poll putting Lula at 46% and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro at 43% in a potential runoff, a draw within the margin of error.
- The main challenger is Flávio Bolsonaro, a 44-year-old senator and son of Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence after conviction for plotting to stay in power.
- Alckmin, a moderate conservative and former São Paulo governor, is credited with broadening Lula’s appeal and easing investor worries, and as trade minister he led talks that produced U.S. tariff cuts on several Brazilian goods.