SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, March 31 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will again be his running mate in an October election, reprising the 2022 winning ticket as the leftist leader seeks a fourth non-consecutive term.
The announcement followed months of speculation over whether Alckmin, 73, would drop off the ticket to run for office in his home state of Sao Paulo, where he previously served as governor for more than a decade.
Lula said at a cabinet meeting that Alckmin would step down from his role as minister of development, industry, trade and services ahead of the election.
Alckmin, Lula’s centrist rival in the 2006 election, joined the leftist leader’s ticket in 2022 in an attempt to build a broad coalition against then-right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula defeated by a narrow margin.
During the campaign, Alckmin was seen as key to calming investors fearing more interventionist economic policy and luring support in Brazil’s southeastern region, where Lula had struggled in previous elections.
As trade minister, Alckmin last year oversaw Brazil’s negotiations with the U.S. over a 50% tariff imposed by Washington on U.S. imports of several Brazilian goods, which was later reduced.
Recent opinion polls have shown Lula and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Bolsonaro, tied in a simulated run-off for this year’s vote. Flavio has yet to name his running mate.
CABINET RESHUFFLE
Lula’s announcement came as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle eyeing the 2026 election, as by Brazilian law candidates seeking public office and holding certain executive posts must step down six months before the general vote.
Having ministers campaign and run for congressional and gubernatorial posts across the country is a longstanding strategy in Brazilian politics, allowing incumbents to showcase government accomplishments.
Over a dozen cabinet changes were disclosed on Tuesday, including in key posts such as agriculture and environment – with Andre de Paula and Joao Paulo Capobianco replacing Carlos Favaro and Marina Silva, respectively.
Lula also swapped his Chief of Staff Rui Costa for Costa’s deputy Miriam Belchior, while Bruno Moretti will take over the Planning Ministry, a post previously held by Simone Tebet.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, Fernando Cardoso and Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Mark Porter)
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