Bolsonaro says Lula is “terrible” after Costa Neto praised the PT member

In a video posted on his X profile this Sunday (14), former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) criticized his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), saying that he “is terrible”. The criticism comes after praise that the president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, gave the PT member, saying that he had led good governments and that he had prestige, unlike Bolsonaro.

After criticizing several aspects of the PT government, Bolsonaro said in the video that the problem is that “we are in the same boat. “If someone here perhaps voted for the PT, it may exist, okay, it may exist, you can’t compare: I may be a horrible guy, but the other guy is horrible. There’s no way it can work,” he concluded.

On Friday (12), an excerpt from an interview that Costa Neto gave to the newspaper The diary, from the region of Mogi das Cruzes (SP), went viral on social networks, including among PT members. In it, the PL president states that Lula is different from Bolsonaro because “he has a lot of prestige”.

“There is no comparison with Bolsonaro. Completely different. Firstly, Lula has a lot of prestige. He doesn’t have the charisma that Bolsonaro has. Lula has prestige, popularity. He is known by all Brazilians. Bolsonaro, no,” he stated during the interview with the São Paulo newspaper.

On Saturday (13), Costa Neto used his profile on X to defend himself from criticism he received due to the praise given to Lula. “They are attacking me, using a speech I made about Lula that is out of context. To those, I leave a message: whoever does not have loyalty and fidelity, has a short life in politics. I am loyal to Bolsonaro and faithful to my principles. Whoever You know, you know that my word doesn’t bend”, he stated.

Bolsonaro highlights the drop in purchasing power among other problems of the PT administration

The video in which Bolsonaro appears talking to supporters was recorded in the Vila Histórica de Mambucaba, in Angra dos Reis (RJ). During the dialogue, he spoke about the country’s situation and told reports from the people he spoke to about the drop in purchasing power, the reduction in sales volume and the profit margin of traders in different parts of Brazil.

The former president spoke about a possible crop failure for this year, and the demoralization that the agribusiness sector, its entrepreneurs and workers have suffered since the beginning of Lula’s administration.

He also referred to the return of actions by the Landless Workers Movement (MST), saying that “there was practically no MST with me”. Bolsonaro also stated that the reduction in violence in his government was due to the policy of access to weapons for “good people”.

When citing the deficit in public accounts, Bolsonaro mentioned that it is a deficit of almost R$200 billion – the estimate released by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) in December was R$119 billion. “And you’re the ones who are going to pay this bill,” he said. “The world doesn’t forgive, the economy doesn’t forgive,” he added.

Another point criticized by the former president was Lula’s foreign policy, stating that the president “does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist group”. Furthermore, Bolsonaro highlighted that Brazil has once again lent money to “dictatorial countries, in fact, some of it is for work, but some of it returns to feed their political power”.