CNN political analyst Teo Cury says Lula’s campaign is reviewing its communications strategy and trying to reduce voter abstention ahead of the runoff.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has stepped up his criticism of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) after finishing the first round behind Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. CNN political analyst Teo Cury reported that Lula’s team is also reviewing its communications strategy ahead of the runoff.
CNN said, citing information obtained by Cury, that Lula had agreed during the campaign not to speak forcefully in public about the STF’s internal crisis. The plan was to watch events from a distance and, if needed, issue carefully prepared statements through controlled channels. CNN reports that the strategy has since been revised.
Cury said the campaign believes the court crisis has hurt Lula electorally, although the president was not directly involved in the dispute. In the analyst’s account, some voters perceive a link between Lula and STF justices, including Alexandre de Moraes. Cury noted that Lula did not appoint de Moraes, but said that association exists in the public’s perception.
CNN also cited events on September 15 as contributing to some public dissatisfaction with the court. During proceedings involving Justice Flávio Dino, Justice Cristiano Zanin suspended consideration of the case. On Monday, October 5, Lula said he had “carried the promiscuity of the Supreme Court on his back,” arguing that he had borne the political fallout from a crisis that was not his.
In an interview with Flow, Lula discussed possible changes to the judiciary, including fixed terms for STF justices and a council with civil-society participation to help choose nominees.
According to CNN, Lula’s campaign is focusing on three fronts for the runoff: criticism of the STF, a change in communications, and efforts to reduce abstention. Some 33.4 million eligible voters did not cast ballots in the first round. The campaign hopes to bring at least some of them back to the polls. Cury noted that abstention was higher in the first round than in the runoff in 2022, which he said benefited Lula.
CNN reported that campaign figures are debating whether Communications Secretariat Minister Sidônio Palmeira’s continued leadership of the strategy could hurt the campaign. João Santana, who worked on winning campaigns for Lula and Dilma Rousseff, was mentioned as a possible replacement.
Cury also pointed to voters’ broader disillusionment with politics and the government’s record. CNN quoted Lula as saying the government needed to change things people disliked. The analyst said a campaign argument comparing Lula’s and Bolsonaro’s records was not having the expected effect: in his view, voters are focused more on future solutions than on the past.