Brazil’s socialist presidential candidate visits Lula in prison to get his marching orders

After decades of corruption and ineptitude, Brazil appears to be on the verge of closing the socialist chapter in its history. With their leader Lula da Silva imprisoned for corruption and his successor Dilma Rousseff impeached and removed from office, socialists in Brazil find themselves being pushed out of the political sphere.

The socialist Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad is perhaps their last shot at regaining relevancy in Brazil. But odds are Haddad will not only lose to Jair Bolsonaro, he will be blown out in the runoff election on October 28.

With the future looking dimmer and dimmer for Brazil’s socialists, Haddad seeks wisdom from his corrupt and imprisoned mentor and still leader of the socialist party, Lula da Silva.

Frances Martel reports in Breitbart:

Brazil: Socialist Presidential Hopeful Visits Prison for Campaign Marching Orders from Lula

Fernando Haddad, the socialist Workers’ Party (PT) candidate for president in Brazil, made his first public act since securing a spot in this month’s run-off election a visit to prison on Monday, where PT leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption.

The PT nominated Lula, who served as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2011, as their candidate for the election last year. A ten-year prison sentence for taking over $1 million in bribes to buy a luxury beachfront complex derailed his re-election ambitions, but the PT kept Lula on the ballot expecting the appeals court to overturn the conviction. Instead, on final conviction, the court extended Lula’s sentence to 12 years.

Brazil’s “Clean Slate Law” prevents politicians convicted of corruption crimes from running for office. Despite this, Lula refused to allow the PT to name another candidate until mid-September, giving Haddad mere weeks to campaign against his opponents.

On Monday, Lula displayed his supremacy over the party again as Haddad headed to southern Curitiba to visit him in prison, ostensibly for a game plan on how to face rival conservative Jair Bolsonaro in the second round. Brazilians will return to the polls on October 28 to choose between Haddad and Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party (PSL).

In Latin America, unlike in the United States, the term “liberal” typically refers to a preference for small government and individual rights over collective action and authoritarian policies.

Haddad’s visit to prison “will define the priorities in this stage of the campaign,” according to the Brazilian magazine Veja. Haddad is reportedly seeking Lula’s guidance in particular on how to court voters who opted for candidates other than Bolsonaro and himself during the first round.

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