Lula rules out running Anielle Franco as Paes’ vice-president for re-election in Rio

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated on Tuesday night (2) that minister Anielle Franco, of Racial Equality, will not be a candidate in the 2024 elections in Rio de Janeiro. She joined the PT and was tipped to be Eduardo Paes’ (PSD) vice-president on the re-election ticket, which has Lula as a supporter.

During Anielle’s affiliation speech, Lula mentioned that he does not usually participate in events like this, but that he made an exception for the minister because she is the sister of councilwoman Marielle Franco, murdered in 2018. He classified her as a figure with significant political potential in the state from Rio de Janeiro.

“Anielle is a young woman and she can build a very important political perspective in the state of Rio de Janeiro. I am sure, I will say for her, without speaking to her, that she has no intention of running for any position now in 2024. She wants to be a minister until the last moment”, stated the president.

Although the PT is a supporter of Paes in Rio’s municipal election this year, the president of the PSD, Gilberto Kassab, viewed Anielle’s nomination as vice-president with reservations, as he would have the intention of making the party compete with a “pure blood” ticket. .

Despite the refusal for the 2024 electoral race, Lula did not rule out the possibility of Anielle running in future elections. “She’d better start preparing beforehand if she’s interested in being a candidate for something,” she emphasized.

Furthermore, Lula encouraged the newly joined member to get involved in PT activities, highlighting the importance of participating in party meetings and debates. “It is important that you attend some PT meetings, some PT debates. Because you will discover one thing in the PT, without any demerit to the other parties in this country: there is no party similar to the PT in the world”, concluded the president.

Anielle’s affiliation with the PT in Rio occurred hours after Lula participated in two ceremonies in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. In the morning, he inaugurated the first undergraduate course at Impa Tech, where he stated that he had never known “any moment of denialism” like the one the country is experiencing today.

And, in the second act, during a ceremony in Niterói (RJ), he criticized the sale of Petrobras assets carried out by the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), stating that it caught the country “dismantled”.

The criticism of the former president was made in the city where the opposition leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ), is a pre-candidate for mayor in this year’s elections.