President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has urged his political allies to intensify grassroots campaigning as revelations about his son and a former aide create pressure on his re‑election bid. In recent conversations, Lula told supporters that elections are not won or lost on the eve of the vote and urged caution, asking the Workers’ Party (PT) to increase "corpo a corpo" — direct, neighborhood‑level outreach — to counter Bolsonarist opponents.
The president’s appeal comes after news outlets reported investigations into Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, widely known as Lulinha, and Marco Aurélio Ribeiro, nicknamed Marcola, who served as Lula’s chief of staff until 2023. According to Folha de S.Paulo, Lulinha is the subject of three inquiries in Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) concerning alleged influence‑peddling tied to a lobbyist pushing cannabidiol‑based medicines for the Health Ministry. The Prosecutor‑General’s Office (PGR) has asked that the case be moved to a lower court, arguing no special forum applies.
Marcola is accused of having personal expenses paid by the same lobbyist while negotiating with the government, a claim he denies, saying the transactions were loans. A Federal Police (PF) document released on August 20 identified Lulinha as an indirect beneficiary of the lobbyist’s work and pointed to a "communion of interests" between the two. Both Marcola and Lulinha’s representatives deny wrongdoing, though Lulinha has also complained about leaks of the PF investigation.
Allies of the president, speaking anonymously to Folha, say the scandal has hit the campaign at its worst moment, dampening morale among militants and even within the campaign coordination team. Lula himself is reportedly disappointed with Marcola, whom he has viewed since his imprisonment in Curitiba as a potential curator of his political legacy.
Electoral anxiety is focused on voter perceptions of the economy. Lula insists his administration managed macroeconomic affairs well and wants activists to spread positive data when debating Bolsonarist critics. A Datafolha poll released on August 21 showed Lula with 39 % of first‑round voting intentions, versus 32 % for Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL‑RJ). The same survey projected a runoff scenario where Lula would lead 47 % to 43 %. However, the poll’s fieldwork took place on August 18‑19, before the latest revelations, so the potential impact of the scandal is not yet captured.
Despite the challenges, Lula expressed optimism about the party’s prospects in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, noting a tie with Flávio Bolsonaro in Minas but deficits in the other two states according to Datafolha. Some government allies downplay the scandal’s effects, citing a loyal PT base, while the party maintains that Lula and his family are frequent targets of electoral accusations. Another strategy mentioned by allies is to court roughly 30 % of undecided voters seen as decisive, although they now consider a first‑round victory unlikely.