Merval campaigns against strategic voting, which strengthens Bolsonaro's movement.

247 - Journalist Merval Pereira, who supported Lava Jato and the coup against Dilma, highlighted in his column published this Sunday that regional elections have already proven that the winner in the first round does not always win in the second.

"Researchers assure us that no one who wins the first round of the presidential election has ever lost. But there are regional examples, such as the formidable turnaround in the 1995 campaign. Candidate Hélio Costa won the first round with 48,8% of the vote, and Eduardo Azeredo reversed the result in the second round, becoming governor of Minas Gerais. The voters will decide," he wrote.

Merval also said that Lula was not exonerated, reversing the logic and legal principle. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty by an impartial and competent court from a jurisdictional point of view. But, according to Merval, that's not the case.

"If he proclaims himself innocent today when that hasn't happened, what might he say after being elected in the first round, something that has never happened since he ran for president in 1989? This popular concession could trigger a feeling of invincibility that could lead to a third Lula government being more marked by the authoritarianism of someone who will see himself as the savior of the nation returning in the arms of the people," he stated.

Merval celebrated the results of the polls showing a reduction in Lula's lead over Bolsonaro.

"As the jargon of election polls goes, 'the crocodile's mouth is closing,' that is, the difference between Lula and Bolsonaro has been decreasing since the beginning of the campaign. It is possible that the final stretch will trigger a dilemma in voters that will be exploited by the candidates. Giving a victory to the former president in the first round would be a strong response against Bolsonaro, but it would also give Lula a blank check," he pointed out.

The journalist also criticized Geraldo Alckmin, whose selection as vice-president shows Lula's willingness to anticipate alliances that would normally be made in the second round, which would prevent a dangerous dispute from intensifying in Brazil.

"Alckmin is exaggerating so much in his conversion that, after listening to the Socialist International without blushing, he went on television to say that when people refer to his previous criticisms of corruption in the PT government, they want to confuse the electorate. Today he says he was deceived by Lava Jato, and that it was proven that Lula was not guilty of anything," he pointed out.

Merval also defended Lava Jato, which respected jurists worldwide cite as an example of judicial error.

"The eventual errors of Operation Lava Jato did not invalidate the corruption accusations in the PT government, as Lula has already admitted, nor did they exonerate the former president of anything. Considering former judge Moro biased and changing the location of the trial only meant that the cases restarted from scratch, without addressing the merits. Many were dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, based on the Supreme Court's decision, and few due to lack of evidence," he said.