The current President has little to no chance of being reelected. The disastrous response of Bolsonaro’s government to the COVID-19 pandemic and the chaotic state of the government, in general, made Bolsonaro one of the most unpopular Brazilian presidents in history. Read the text below to see which people will run in the Brazilian 2022 Presidential Elections.
The current President:
Jair Bolsonaro (PL)
Even after a non-existent response to the pandemic, an economic collapse, the many scandals of corruption concerning Bolsonaro and his family, and endless international incidents, the 66-year-old current President of the Federative Republic of Brazil will seek reelection.
The 38th Brazilian President has consistently polled above the 50% mark in terms of rejection, but he still has many die-hard supporters. This base of support makes Bolsonaro steadily poll above 20%. Bolsonaro will run with the support of PL, Partido Liberal (Liberal Party).
In one of the last polls for the 2022 election by Instituto Datafolha, Bolsonaro had approximately 21% of the vote intentions.
The following candidates will be his opponents (naturally) in the election:
The main rival:
The Workers Party has been one of the most influential parties since Brazil again became a democracy in 1984. In all the Brazilian presidential elections since 1989, the PT candidate was always either the winner or the runner-up in the election.
Lula da Silva (PT)
Lula was once a metalworker; a union leader, founder of CUT (an influential workers’ union); an activist against the Military Dictatorship (a regime of which Bolsonaro is an apologist); founder of PT, Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party); and most importantly, the 35th Brazilian President, from 2003 to 2011.
He was a candidate in the presidential elections of 1989, 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006, winning in the last two.
He was a very popular president but then had his image tarnished when he became involved in the Lava Jato corruption scandal. He was even arrested in the course of the process in 2018 but was released in November of 2019.
Lula has been polling consistently above 40%. The same Datafolha poll puts him with 47% of the vote intention.
Searching for a third way:
This field is a little more complicated. Because the two leading candidates are so polarizing, there’s been a search for a “third way” candidate that could unite all sides and so end the growing split in Brazilian society.
However, there has been more supply than demand in this sector…
Sérgio Moro (Podemos)
The former judge and former Minister of Justice and Public Safety in the Bolsonaro government recently joined the center-to center-right party, PODEMOS, and has announced his candidacy for the 2022 Brazil Presidential Elections.
He judged major corruption cases such as Mensalão and Lava Jato. He was the one who sentenced Lula to nine years and six months in prison for money laundering and passive corruption.
He is polling 9% of the vote intentions, according to Datafolha.
João Doria (PSDB)
He was mayor of the city of São Paulo and is now the Governor of São Paulo state. He is credited with a good response to the pandemic, having implemented lockdowns and distributed vaccines even “under the fire” of the Brazilian President.
However, he is considered an “opportunist” by most political analysts. This is because in his run for the governorship of São Paulo, he associated himself with Bolsonaro, even using the hashtag #BolsoDoria in his campaign. And now Doria is one of Bolsonaro’s fiercest critics.
According to Datafolha, he has 4% of the vote intentions.
Ciro Gomes (PDT)
The only left-wing candidate in the “third-way match” is the three-time presidential candidate (1998, 2002, and 2018) and former Ceará Governor Ciro Gomes.
He refuses to form a “left-wing coalition” with Lula and criticizes PT and Bolsonaro in equal quantities.
According to Datafolha, he polls 7%.
Simone Tebet (MDB)
The 51-year-old Senator gained notoriety in the COVID-19 Parliamentary Commission, an investigation that sought to find irregularities in Bolsonaro’s response to the pandemic.
Although Tebet denied it, it is possible that she and her party (MDB) will form a coalition with another candidate. Simone Tebet has 1% of the vote intentions, according to Datafolha.
Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD)
The 44-year-old current Senate President is also one of the players for the “third way” candidacy, but he will also probably seek a coalition. He is currently polling only 1% of the vote intentions, according to Datafolha.
Lesser relevant pre-candidates:
-Alessandro Vieira (Cidadania)
-André Janones (Avante)
-Aldo Rebelo (NA/I)
-Felipe D’Ávila (NOVO)
-Leonardo Péricles (UP)
