(Bloomberg) — Brazil’s presidential front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pledged to lead a stable economy and avoid the mistakes of his successor, Dilma Rousseff, if he’s elected.
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During a 40-minute, prime-time interview on the nation’s most-watched news show, Lula said he’ll govern with predictability, stability and credibility in comments that sought to reassure the undecided and voters who have doubts about a third mandate for the leftist.
“I want to come back to do a better government than I did,” Lula, who governed Brazil between 2003 and late 2010, said Thursday.
Lula, 76, said his governments brought down inflation, built international reserves and lowered debt levels and he would do the same again if elected, building confidence at home and abroad. He highlighted the pick of Geraldo Alckmin, a market friendly former foe, as his running mate in an example of political consensus.
He also said he is working on a big infrastructure investment plan.
Lula’s campaign is seeking to broaden his appeal including among the middle class as incumbent Jair Bolsonaro chips away at his election edge with about five weeks to go until the first-round vote on Oct. 2. A runoff vote if needed would take place Oct. 30 between the two front-runners.
The former union leader’s calls for a stronger social safety net and environmental protection have dovetailed with the rise of leftist leaders in nearby countries like Colombia and Chile. Still, the current government is pulling out all the stops, including an $8 billion economic package, as part of an effort to mitigate the impact of inflation while also improving its chances to stay in power.
“Lula’s challenge is to hold on to his position,” Marcia Cavallari, the chief executive officer of pollster Ipec, said Wednesday at an event organized by Bloomberg News in Sao Paulo. “He can’t make any mistakes.”
Rare Criticism
The leftist contender positioned himself as the candidate best capable of reviving the economy.
During the interview, Lula took a rare swipe at Rousseff, a former minister he helped elect as his successor and who was then impeached in 2016, saying the tax exemptions and gasoline subsidies given under her government were a mistake.
Lula appeared on the program even after previously blaming the media, especially Globo TV and Jornal Nacional that aired Thursday’s interview, for the damage to his reputation.
In response to a question about Brazil’s biggest-ever corruption probe, Operation Carwash, Lula addressed the issue head on. “You can’t say there wasn’t corruption if people confessed crimes,” he said. However, he was less than clear about how he might avert such scandals should he win office.
The Carwash investigation tarnished the image of his Workers’ Party and put Lula in jail for almost a year and a half, though he was later released after the Supreme Court tossed out his convictions on procedural grounds.
Lula’s lead has narrowed to 15 percentage points from 18 previously, according to a DataFolha poll published Aug. 18. While he is popular with the poor, the leftist contender trails Bolsonaro by 13 percentage points among middle class workers who earn 6,000 reais ($1,170) to 12,000 reais per month.
Bolsonaro has backed expanded cash payouts for the poor, as well as tax cuts on goods from gasoline to utilities as part of a last-ditch effort to improve his popularity. Consumer prices posted the biggest mid-month plunge on record in August, providing relief to millions across the region’s largest economy.
(Updates with Lula’s comments about corruption in his government in 12th, 13th paragraphs)
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