In an interview with CNN, the senator-elect from Pernambuco said left-wing parties should adjust their messaging and reach out to politically neutral leaders before the runoff.
Marília Arraes, a senator-elect from Pernambuco for the Democratic Labour Party (PDT), urged supporters of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to win over moderate voters ahead of Brazil’s presidential runoff. In an interview with CNN Brasil’s Bastidores CNN, she said Lula’s allies should adjust their communications strategy and broaden contacts with political leaders who have not declared support for Jair Bolsonaro.
Arraes acknowledged that a conservative wave had swept through Brazil in the election and called on the left to examine its own mistakes. She also said social-media algorithms pose an obstacle to progressives and argued that large technology companies should be regulated.
The senator-elect said she had attended a meeting with Lula the day before the interview, where the participants discussed changes to communications and ties with political leaders. Arraes named Pernambuco governor-elect Raquel Lyra, who has said she will remain neutral in the runoff, as one of the figures to approach.
Arraes said her priorities in the Senate would include reducing inequalities between regions and people. She warned that the National Fund for Regional Development established under Brazil’s tax reform could provide the entire Northeast with less funding in 2029 than a single state in the region, such as Ceará, has already granted in tax incentives to attract investment. In her view, a shift from tax competition to competition over money could disadvantage regions that need greater federal support.
She also called for investment in public health, education, science and culture. Arraes urged politicians to address workers’ everyday concerns — housing, food, jobs, the cost of living and real increases in the minimum wage.