PT will use the 8/1 act to capitalize on votes in 2024 and 2026

With an “act in defense of democracy” scheduled for Monday (4), the Workers’ Party intends to gain new ammunition against the oppositionists in the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for the 2024 and 2026 elections. In the 1980s, when the party used the “fight against corruption” as its slogan, the “defense of democracy” should be boosted in the party’s advertising pieces to boost the image of Lula and the party.

The tone of the PT strategy is contained in the latest Resolution of the National Directory, published on December 12, 2023. In the document, the acronym states that the “aggression against democracy was frustrated by the prompt and energetic reaction of institutions and civil society, led by the president Lula together with the other powers of the Republic.”

The party led by federal deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PT-PR) also chose to insist on polarization as a way of gaining an electoral advantage. For the acronym, the most important thing for 2024 is the clash against the political wing that they call “extreme right”.

“It is our task to actively participate in the 2024 municipal elections, fighting against the extreme right, to re-elect and increase the city halls we are in today, in addition to significantly expanding our base of councilors, encouraging the participation of women, black , young people and LGBTQI+”, concludes the party’s resolution.

PT confirms that it will use 8/1 in campaigns

A People’s Gazettedeputy Jilmar Tatto (PT-SP), PT’s national secretary of Communication, confirmed that January 8th will be widely used by the party in electoral campaigns.

“In the 2024 municipal elections, the issue of defending democracy, freedom, social rights and reducing inequalities will still be important. Remembering January 8th will be necessary precisely to denounce the anti-democratic, coup-based and prejudiced attitudes of Bolsonaro supporters. These attitudes were rejected at the polls in 22 by the majority of the electorate and should also be rejected this year”, said the parliamentarian.

Lula’s party must repeat 2022 strategy

In the assessment of political scientist Juan Carlos Arruda, CEO of the Ranking of Politicians, 8/1 should reinforce the PT’s tactics used in the 2022 elections. At the time, the party used the figure of vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) to convey the image that he would be willing to ally with former adversaries to face then-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

In the case of January 8th, the party should take advantage of next Monday’s event to promote the narrative that Lula is united with the other powers in favor of democracy.

“In the 2022 election, Lula came to power with a platform centered on defending democracy and the rule of law. His group proposed the formation of a broad political front, uniting even opponents from past elections, such as vice-president Geraldo Alckmin himself, to reinforce this commitment. The events of January 8, 2023 took this narrative to a new level. While the possibility of a democratic rupture in Brazil was previously a concept in the popular imagination, events have made this threat more tangible and worrying,” said Arruda.

Commenting on the electoral strategy, Arruda adds that the PT should use the national scenario to boost the party to win city halls. From 2004 to 2023, the party went from 406 city halls to 227 – a reduction of 44% over these 20 years.

“The January episode will be explored by the PT as a potential risk to democracy. In 2020, the PT did not win any city halls in the capitals during the elections. Now, in 2024, they are looking for a different trajectory. Given the absence of municipal showcases to demonstrate their management capacity, they plan to use the national stage – including events like the one on January 8 – to value their candidates, presenting them as “guardians of democracy”, not as good managers. Whether this will work, we will check soon”, said the political scientist.

For political scientist Elton Gomes, professor at the Federal University of Piauí (UFPI), the party’s strategy follows the direction of maintaining polarization and dictating the narrative, a movement similar to what occurred when it was in opposition to the PSDB.

“The PT reinforces a strategy that it has invested in for a long time, which is a strategy of polarization [desenvolvida] at least since the time of Fernando Henrique, but which has now been greatly accentuated. I would also say that, since January 8, the left has been doing this in the country: using this event as an instrument to disqualify the entire political movement on the other spectrum. Regardless of the personal conduct of the vandals, the PT invests in what it has done for 30 years, which is controlling narratives,” said Gomes.

As in the 90s, PT wants a new slogan to reduce rejection

Before coming to power in 2003, Lula’s party spent the 80s and 90s selling itself as the party that fought against corruption. In the 1989 election, for example, one of the main posters of the PT campaign said: “Against corruption, Lula is the solution”. The same could happen in relation to the acts of January 8th.

In the opinion of political scientist Adriano Cerqueira, professor at the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets (Ibmec), the PT needs a new slogan to clean up its image damaged by the corruption scandals revealed by the Lava Jato operation.

“The PT has lost a lot of political status for the average voter, for the voter who is not a militant, neither on the left nor on the right, who at the end of the last century saw the PT as an anti-corruption party, but who were disappointed with the governments of Lula and Dilma – mainly because of the corruption scandals. The PT is very tarnished at this point and the possibility of reenchanting the middle class and this average voter as a non-extremist party, defending democracy, is one of the few “bullets”, so to speak, that are left for the PT”, said Cerqueira.

On the other hand, he believes that 8/1 should be used more in 2026, as this year’s municipal elections focus on local problems.

“The municipal election is an issue that mobilizes local voters. Voters are more mobilized due to the problems of their daily lives, the place they live, and they value candidacies in this sense. Ideological issues remain in the background. In some cities, especially in São Paulo, January 8th could be important for a far-left candidate, like Guilherme Boulos, to try to move away from this extremist image and try to soften it as a defender of democracy. I believe that Boulos will invest a lot in this discussion to try to soften his far-left past, which greatly hinders his plans to try to win the municipal election”, added Cerqueira.