A week after the U.S. captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Lula dismissed its electoral fallout—alongside Brazil's public security woes—as minimal for his 2026 bid, prioritizing economic gains with new 2025 welfare initiatives amid opposition attacks.
Opposition leaders, building on initial excitement over the January 3 U.S. operation, continue criticizing Lula's stance. São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas faulted Lula for not mediating and predicted left-wing setbacks in Brazil, while Senator Flávio Bolsonaro speculated Maduro might implicate Lula in a U.S. deal.
Lula's allies, like PT Communications Secretary Éden Valadares, downplay the issue's longevity, expecting it to fade by October 2026. They note foreign policy rarely influences Brazilian elections since redemocratization, and Lula plans to frame U.S. actions as sovereignty threats without alienating Trump.
Opposition has also spotlighted domestic security, using a recent Rio operation against Comando Vermelho to attack Lula. Marketeer Duda Lima, from Bolsonaro's 2022 campaign, advised framing votes as choosing between 'loose bandits' under Lula or jailed ones under opposition, to sway middle-class voters.
Though polls show security as a top concern, Lula emphasizes employment, income, and consumption. For 2025, he announced affordable housing credit, expanded cooking gas aid, free electricity for the poor, and higher income tax exemptions to bolster economic appeal.
