The image ended up on the front page of all the Brazilian media on November 3. That of Geraldo Alckmin advancing proudly in the vast entrance hall of the Planalto Palace, the workplace of the Brazilian head of state in Brasilia. With a pink tie and a radiant air, the newly elected vice-president came here to kick off the transition process that should lead to the return to power of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose inauguration will take place on 1er January 2023.
A symbolic and unexpected gesture: Jair Bolsonaro then wanted to personally greet Alckmin, official coordinator of the transition team. The two men exchanged a brief handshake on the third floor of the palace, away from the cameras. ” Please deliver us from communism ! », would have begged the far-right president, before adding: ” You should have been my “vice” and not that of Lula ! »
In Brasilia, Geraldo Alckmin is the man of the moment, at ease like no other in these hushed corridor negotiations. We must not trust his false airs of Jacques Chirac. Alckmin is anything but human warmth. Techno reserved, the former governor of Sao Paulo is known for his soporific oratorical style, over-articulated and detaching each syllable in a monotonous tone. Just to be understood by all… at the risk of putting the audience to sleep.
“I am not a showman ! », recognizes the one that everyone calls “chayote sorbet” (drunk with chuchu), named after a tasteless gourd. His 2018 presidential candidacy ended in a complete fiasco: with 4.76% of the vote, he offered his party (the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, PSDB, right) the worst score of its history. In the process, Geraldo Alckmin announced his retirement from political life and a return to medicine, his original training.
“From now on, you call me ‘comrade Lula’ and I call you ‘comrade Alkmin’!” “Launches Lula on April 8
But the crossing of the desert did not last. From 2021, “Chuchu” is approached by Lula’s team. Facing Jair Bolsonaro, it’s about“unite the divergent ones”, repeats the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT). Red metallo and blue techno complement each other perfectly. They make a perfect couple. On April 8, 2022, the “Lulackmin” ticket is sealed. “ From now on, you call me “comrade Lula” and I call you “comrade Alkmin” ! », launches the former president in front of the press.
“ Comrade » ? The title sticks very badly to this man born seventy years ago in Pindamonhangaba, a small city with an unpronounceable name in the State of Sao Paulo. As a medical student, he joined the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) at a very young age, the only opposition party authorized by the military dictatorship. His trajectory was meteoric: he successively became a municipal councilor, mayor, deputy, elected to the Constituent Assembly of the new republic.
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