Brazil’s Lula announces fourth-term campaign with focus on national sovereignty

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has launched his campaign for a fourth term at a Workers’ Party convention in Sao Paulo, confirming it would be his final bid for office.

Centring his platform on global affairs and national defence, the 80-year-old leader pledged to increase military spending and protect the country’s vast rare earth mineral reserves. He warned foreign powers that Brazil would not permit nations like China, France, or the United States to access these resources without respecting territorial sovereignty.

Lula currently holds a slight lead in opinion polls against his likely main challenger, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.