Former Brazilian presidents Lula and Cardoso may join forces to confront Bolsonaro

Sources in both parties have said the risk of Bolsonaro holding onto power made the two men forget their past rivalry

Bolsonaro’s popularity has plummeted during the pandemic, which has killed nearly 450,000 Brazilians

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Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a news conference. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:33pm, 22 May 2021Updated: 1:38pm, 22 May 2021

Two former Brazilian presidents overcame decades of political rivalry on Friday with a public show of common purpose: blocking Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro from gaining a second term next year.

Former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with centrist Fernando Henrique Cardoso, also a two-term former president, for lunch last week, in a move bringing Brazil’s left and centre closer to joining forces to oppose Bolsonaro.

Lula published a photo of the two ex-presidents’ fist-bumping in face masks to social media on Friday, causing ripples of excitement in Brazilian politics.

Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on a wave of anti-establishment sentiment and opposition to Lula’s Worker’s Party (PT), which had governed Brazil for 13 years straight. Critics of Bolsonaro, an admirer of the 1968-1985 military dictatorship that Lula and Cardoso campaigned together to end, see his presidency as a threat to the country’s democratic institutions.

Bolsonaro’s popularity has plummeted during the pandemic, which has killed nearly 450,000 Brazilians as the president played down the severity of the coronavirus, dismissed mask wearing and cast doubt on the importance of vaccines.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on a wave of anti-establishment sentiment. Photo: AFP