Lula Restricts Campaign Inner Circle Amid Stagnant Approval Ratings

President Lula has restricted his campaign's core leadership to four people following dissatisfaction with stagnant government approval ratings and leaks regarding campaign tactics. The inner circle now consists of ministers Sidônio Palmeira and Guilherme Boulos, PT president Edinho Silva, and Paulo Okamotto. Other trusted ministers and the communications team are called in only as needed based on the meeting agenda.

According to a recent Datafolha poll, 42 percent of voters view the government as bad or very bad, while 31 percent rate it as great or good. In first round voting intentions, Lula holds 38 percent compared to 33 percent for his main opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro. For the second round, the two are in a technical tie within a two percent margin of error, with Lula at 46 percent and Bolsonaro at 44 percent.

Lula plans to reinforce his command team, potentially calling upon BNDES president Aloizio Mercadante to leave his post and join the campaign. While there were discussions about recreating the successful 2022 team, Gleisi Hoffmann and Rui Falcão are unlikely to return due to a Senate race in Paraná and internal party friction, respectively.

Allies have expressed concerns regarding campaign obstacles, including delays in distributing materials and a lack of rallies in various states. Internal critics also pointed to Lula's tendency to improvise during events. Examples include a party convention where he abandoned his written speech to speak for over an hour and a campaign launch in São Bernardo do Campo where he failed to mention the proposal to end the six day work week, a key platform point with majority public support.