Simone Tebet modulates her tone and officially announces her support for Lula.

By Denise Assis, for 247

Former presidential candidate for the MDB party, Simone Tebet, modulated her speech. She acknowledged that Lula has a program – a criticism she had voiced the previous day, saying that Lula had not presented one – and delivered a moving speech. She highlighted that her proposals, such as encouraging high school students to return to the classroom and equalizing women's salaries with men's in the same role, as well as eliminating the waiting list for surgeries in the SUS (Brazilian public healthcare system) by allocating federal resources for this purpose, had been accepted and incorporated.

He spoke again about his willingness to campaign alongside Lula and support him in rebuilding the country.

Lula received her words visibly moved – he cleared his throat and drank water each time he was overcome with emotion – and thanked her, reaffirming that Simone Tebet's proposals are "perfectly assimilable" and resonate with his concern for Brazilian men, women, and children, and with his social agenda.

Tebet received hugs from Lula and Geraldo Alckmin, amidst warm applause from campaign and party members who were present at the meeting. Lula mentioned the party president, Gleisi Hoffmann, Aloizio Mercadante, and Clara Ant, whom he called his ever-present and renewed advisor. 

Regarding Bolsonaro's attacks, who in Belo Horizonte on Friday night called him a "drunkard," Lula said – quite rightly – that he wouldn't waste his time on him (or his relapse, he failed to mention), because he had more important things to think about. For example, a country devastated by the incompetence of a soulless and heartless president, incapable of visiting an orphaned child whose parents died from Covid. He also recalled that many of these victims could have been saved if Bolsonaro had valued laboratories and the intelligence of Brazilians, or had purchased the vaccines in time. 

In contrast to the nervousness prevailing in Bolsonaro's reelection campaign, calm reigns in Lula's committee, which continues its campaign across the country. 

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