The Workers' Party (PT) officially confirmed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's candidacy for reelection at a party convention in São Paulo on Sunday, August 2.
The ticket was approved at an internal party meeting held ahead of a political rally in the city's Zona Norte. The bid marks the seventh time Lula has run for the presidency.
Coalition and campaign message
Lula's coalition includes the PT/PV/PCdoB federation, along with the PSB, the PDT and the PSOL/Rede federation.
Lula has made defense of national sovereignty a central theme of his 2026 campaign, amid tariffs imposed by the United States. People close to the president believe that tough responses to Donald Trump's government, even if tensions escalate, help boost Lula's popularity.
Based on internal polling, the PT has begun arguing that the Bolsonaro family provoked the tariffs, pointing to former president Jair Bolsonaro's mention in the letter Trump used last year to announce the tariffs against Brazil. Lula has recently argued that the United States is trying to interfere in the 2026 elections, citing an "electoral mission" the State Department allegedly tried to send to Brazil, a claim he was expected to repeat at Sunday's rally.
Investigation into Lula's son
While the sovereignty message is central to the campaign, Lula's eldest son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, has emerged as a vulnerability. On Thursday, July 30, Justice Mendonça authorized the Federal Police to open an inquiry into Lulinha over alleged influence trafficking and corruption tied to negotiations over medicinal cannabis authorization with the Health Ministry.
The request was sent to the Supreme Court on July 24 and assigned to Mendonça, who also oversees the inquiry into billions in diverted funds from the INSS social security institute, a case that also names Lulinha.
