Lula counters criticism that ‘he is doing the same’ – 04/02/2024 – Power

President Lula (PT) exchanged affection with the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), praised his government’s projects in the area of ​​education and rebutted criticism that he is “doing the same” in his third term as President of the Republic .

“There are people who say: ‘ah, but Lula is doing the same’. I wish to God I had the health to do the same. More quality schools, more full-time schools, more nest egg, more technical schools, more science and technology”, said the president this Tuesday (2).

Lula is facing a period of falling approval for his government and has been criticized for prioritizing the resumption of programs from his first two terms, between 2003 and 2010.

Two weeks ago, he urged his ministers to come to the defense of the federal government, asked for transversality to counter criticism, more travel and greater presence on social media.

This Tuesday, Lula participated in the inauguration of IMPA Tech, the first undergraduate course at IMPA (Institute of Pure Applied Mathematics), specialized in technology and innovation, in Rio de Janeiro. She spoke to an audience of students and advocated for more investment in higher education.

“The bicycle goal is the most beautiful in football. Leônidas da Silva, in 1932, playing for Bonsucesso in Rio de Janeiro, scored the first known bicycle goal. Today, we are scoring a bicycle goal in Rio de Janeiro creating the mathematics faculty”, said Lula.

The president defended investment in education as a counter tool to combat denialism. “The moment we are living in is a delicate moment in the history of Brazil. I am 78 years old and I have not known any moment of denialism, lies, hate, fake news like we live today. If we don’t invest in education, We are giving free to the denialists, to organized crime, to our young people.”

During the event, the president showed harmony with his ally Eduardo Paes, who will run for re-election for Rio City Hall and should have as his main opponent federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL), an ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). At the end of the act, when greeted by the students, he called Paes to his side, held the mayor’s hand and raised it.

On the stage of the ceremony, there were two of those considered for the position of vice on the Paes ticket in the October elections: federal deputy Pedro Paulo (PSD-RJ) is one of the favorites around the mayor, and minister Anielle Franco (Racial Equality ), who joins the PT this Tuesday in a ceremony that should be attended by Lula.

The fierce dispute for the vice-mayor position is due to the possibility of Paes running for state government in the 2026 elections, leaving the municipality under the vice-mayor’s command. The PT is trying to name its ticket, but the desire of those around the mayor is to have a deputy from the PSD itself.

In 2012, the PT supported Eduardo Paes, then in the PMDB, and appointed Adilson Pires as vice-mayor. In the following election, in 2016, Pedro Paulo was the candidate to succeed Paes, but he did not even reach the second round, in a campaign that foundered due to allegations of violence against his then wife.

Lula and Paes exchanged compliments as they had already done in February, when the president was in Rio to inaugurate a transport integration terminal. During a speech this Tuesday, Paes stated that by 2025, almost 40 thousand people should live in the port region of Rio.

“What we see today in Porto Maravilha started way back with the overthrow of Perimetral, and President Lula was by our side. That’s the difference in having a president who does and looks out for Rio de Janeiro,” said Paes.

Funded by the Ministries of Education and Science, Technology and, IMPA Tech was opened in the port area, in a warehouse named by the Porto Maravalley city hall.

The name is a derivation of Porto Maravilha, a housing and revitalization project started in 2011, during Paes’ second term. Porto Maravilha did not progress as expected due to impasses in transfers from Caixa Econômica Federal to the city hall.

Work on the warehouse where Porto Maravalley will operate began in November 2022, with initial investments of R$30 million from the city hall. Once ready, an association of companies will be responsible for managing and maintaining the space.

IMPA Tech’s graduation will cost R$55.9 million over four years, and expects to serve up to 400 students free of charge. The course will last four years, with two stages. In the first, students will be enrolled in a basic cycle of one and a half years. Then, they will be able to choose between four emphases, mathematics, computer science, data science and physics.

The selection process for the first IMPA Tech class allocated 80% of the places to students with the best performances in different knowledge Olympiads, such as the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad and the Brazilian Physics Olympiad.