Lula on the ropes! Bolsonarism comes back to life

Brazil’s progressive camp is in electoral alarm since Flávio Bolsonaro won 47.03% of valid votes and Lula 45.16% in the first round of voting on October 4. The two candidates will contest the presidency on October 25.

The Bolsonarista advance goes beyond the presidential race, since Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party has already secured 28 of the 81 Senate seats from 2027 onward. A political force of that weight can shape laws, budgets and reforms, even if it does not win the presidency.

The socialist response to the resurgence of the far right in Brazil must quickly move past the surprise or anger that Flávio Bolsonaro’s lead in the first round may initially have caused and “get its act together.”

Assuming that most Brazilian voters are ignorant or naively manipulated by the right is not only an act of contempt for the population, but is unlikely to help Lula win a single vote in the runoff.

The time has come for Lula and his team to listen to the people and address “fear of crime, exhaustion with poor public services and the anxiety of working hard just to barely make it (or fail to make it) to the end of the month.”

Lula must translate his political proposal into the language of ordinary people: how far a salary goes, how long it takes to get a doctor’s appointment and what opportunities young people will have in the future. In this sense, defending the most basic rights of the ordinary Brazilian is more persuasive than a thousand words about perverse oligarchies, equality and freedom.

The time has also come to demand that Flávio Bolsonaro give concrete answers to people’s social problems rather than empty electioneering promises. The Bolsonaro surname alone does not explain how the countless promises of economic progress he has made will be financed, how he will protect workers or how he will respect the democratic opposition (unlike his father, who has shown clear totalitarian and coup-plotting attitudes).

The left should earn its political future with better economic management, fewer outdated slogans and more pragmatic actions aimed at solving problems. The right must demonstrate a genuine democratic commitment, and shout less and do more.