Lula’s government plan excludes noise, gives in to conservatives and signals to the center

The new version of the guidelines of the Lula-Alckmin slate’s government program, released this Tuesday (21), eliminated points that were edges for dialogue with sectors in the center, such as the repeal of the labor reform, and signaled the conservatives by excluding allusions to abortion and waving at police officers.

The preview of the plan of the ticket composed by the ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the ex-governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) is described by allies as “a possible text” from the points of view of the seven parties that are in the coalition (PT, PSB, PSOL, Rede, PC do B, PV and Solidarity).

as showed the Sheetthe current version raised the profile of proposals for the Amazon and Petrobras, in the face of two issues that pressure President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), candidate for reelection and runner-up in the polls: the surge in deforestation and fuel prices.

This Tuesday, Lula and Alckmin criticized Bolsonaro, without directly citing him, in the act of launching the document, in São Paulo. The former president referred to his rival as “an unbalanced”, “inhuman” and “evil” citizen, as well as “a president who does not talk to Brazilian society”.

“In a government program, we cannot be irresponsible in proposing something that we already know we will not implement”, said the PT. “Because, if you don’t, you’ll be charged for your inefficiency, for your incompetence. So, it’s important that we put in the least to do the most.”

“All that is here [no plano] is possible to be fulfilled”, he said, urging society to participate in decisions to rescue democracy and regain full citizenship of Brazilians, in case he takes over the Planalto Palace.

Lula referred to the challenge of winning the elections, compared the document’s proposals to bricks and said that he had already proved, when he governed the country, that it is possible to fight inequality and recover the economy. The PT put the end of hunger and the improvement of the population’s income as a priority.

“This country needs to be sovereign again. […] A country will be sovereign when its people are respected, have jobs, have education, have a salary, eat, have health, have conquered a dignified citizenship that every human being is entitled to, which is in our Constitution, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that is in the Bible”, said Lula.

Alckmin, in his speech, referred to Bolsonaro as “this sad president” and said that the current government promoted a general dismantling of public policies, which would reinforce one of the campaign’s mottos, the reconstruction of the country.

“You don’t do a democratic government program on motorcycles and jet-skis, but you listen to the population and work”, said Alckmin, provoking applause. “This document was built by many, many, and will continue to be discussed in a democratic way.”

The candidate for vice-president praised the economic policies present in the text, one of the themes to which he devoted himself most during the discussions. “Inflation is not socially neutral, it affects the poorest more. Inflation is one of the most perverse instruments of income concentration,” he said.

He also defended “growth that does not destroy the environment”, calling what is seen in the Amazon, with land grabbing and destruction, “an unbelievable thing”. Alckmin stressed the defense of democracy as one of the banners of the candidacy, amending another provocation to Bolsonaro.

This Tuesday’s act, in a hotel in Jardins (central region), was marked by the invasion of Bolsonaristas and also by a public complaint from the city councilor Eduardo Suplicy (PT). The protest by the president’s supporters left the atmosphere tense and shortened Lula’s speech.

PT’s national president, deputy Gleisi Hoffmann, said at the event that the document is “a synthesis of what everyone on this journey thinks”, highlighting what she called “great programmatic unity”, with the collaboration of social movements and unions.

Union centrals insisted on maintaining the point about labor reform, but the term “revocation”, which appeared in an earlier version of the text, was adapted. Now the proposal is to revoke only “the regressive milestones of the current labor legislation”.

For Adilson Araújo, president of the CTB (Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadores do Brasil), it is not possible to discuss the issue unilaterally. “It was a possible text, discussing within a broader program”, says he, who said he saw the result as within expectations.

Araújo says that it is necessary to consider the possibility that Lula, if elected, does not have a majority in Congress, which will demand an openness to dialogue and conciliation. “It is a serious problem, which needs to be taken into account. For us, it was an advance to have the proposal of the union centrals on the reform.”

Removing points “that could attract more problems” was beneficial, in the opinion of the national president of Solidarity, Paulo Pereira da Silva. For Paulinho da Força, who is a deputy for São Paulo, the main thing at the moment is to highlight the urgency of creating jobs and fighting inflation.

The national president of the PSOL, Juliano Medeiros, says that the document “translates a coalition”, which explains the need to make concessions in some aspects. The leader of the acronym, who sought to push the program to the left, considered the current wording to be satisfactory, after “mediations and dialogues”.

“It is not a program that will immediately solve all the country’s problems, but it points out the government’s priorities, which are fundamental, among them the repeal of the spending ceiling, the review of the regressive measures of the labor reform and the defense of deforestation. zero net”, says Medeiros.

The environmental agenda gains emphasis in the plan in the wake of the repercussion of the death of the indigenist Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips in Amazonas. The campaign incorporated the fight against illegal deforestation and the promotion of zero net deforestation (with restoration of degraded areas).

The sustainable bias was also applied to the Petrobras issue, alongside two points: the clear opposition to the privatization of the state-owned company, a proposal supported by the current government, and the defense of the end of international price parity, based on the dollar. The document talks about “Brazilianizing the price of fuel”.

Discussions that caused noise and appeared in the preliminary version presented by the PT to the allied parties on the 6th were excluded or softened. This is the case with the defense of sexual and reproductive rights for women. Lula was the target of criticism after saying that abortion should be a “right for everyone”.

In the current wording, “integral health policies” are offered, in order to “strengthen the conditions in the SUS for all women to have access to disease prevention and to be attended to according to the particularities of each stage of their lives”.

The campaign’s relationship with public security professionals, who make up Bolsonaro’s electoral base and were at the center of another controversy involving the PT member after he implied that police officers are not people, also deserved a topic in the compilation.

“The appreciation of the public security professional will be a guiding principle of all public policies in the area.” The promise is to implement “channels of listening and dialogue, biopsychosocial care programs and actions to promote and guarantee respect for their identities and diversities”.

There are also mentions of fighting crimes and violence committed against women, black youth and the LGBTQIA+ population. The campaign proposes broad rights and sees it as unacceptable for Brazilians “to be assaulted, morally and physically, or even killed because of their sexual orientation.”

Aloizio Mercadante (PT), coordinator of the government program, called the document with the guidelines “a historic pact” of the parties against the “historical tragedy” represented by Bolsonaro.

“These are the axes. People who want to contribute from now on will have a great instrument. The guidelines are just the starting point”, he said.

During the act, a virtual platform was also launched to receive contributions to the government program. According to the former minister, the page was attacked by bolsonaristas as soon as it went live, which could make access difficult. “But we will give the Bolsonaristas the answer on election day.