Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro joins centrist party, eyeing re-election
The Hindu
The decision followed a meeting between Mr Bolsonaro and Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa Neto in the capital Brasilia
After two years without a political party, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro sealed an agreement with the centrist Liberal Party to back his 2022 re-election bid, according to a party statement.
The decision followed a meeting between Mr Bolsonaro and Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa Neto in the capital Brasilia, the statement said on Wednesday. The president's formal enrolment to the party's ranks will take place November 22.
Mr Bolsonaro intends for the alliance to aid him in battling his nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. "Lula," as da Silva is known universally, holds a handsome lead over Bolsonaro in early polls. Joining one of the parties that forms part of the so-called Centrao group also signals Mr Bolsonaro shifting course from his 2018 campaign strategy, when he sharply criticised their old-school political practices.
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