Lula campaign sees Lulinha case as 'painful,' bets on 'Dark Horse' to quell crisis

President Lula's reelection campaign is grappling with the fallout from investigations into Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, the president's son. Known as Lulinha, the businessman faces inquiries into influence peddling and alleged business dealings with a lobbyist. The campaign is reportedly concerned about potential further revelations and is strategizing to shift focus.

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It is painful for us.

To mitigate the crisis, the campaign intends to leverage the start of radio and television advertising to highlight accusations against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a key opponent. This "attack is the best defense" strategy aims to overshadow the Lulinha case. However, behind the scenes, there is a palpable sense of "pain" within Lula's inner circle.

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Everyone will be investigated, no matter who it hurts.

The official stance from Lula is that all investigations will proceed impartially. Yet, the campaign alleges that Supreme Court Minister André Mendonça, who is overseeing some of Lulinha's cases, and certain factions within the Federal Police are applying a "double standard." They believe these actions are intended to harm the president's image. The investigation into Lulinha also involves alleged business connections with Roberta Luchsinger, a lobbyist for "Careca do INSS," who is also under federal investigation. Further complicating matters, a former chief of staff to Lula, Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, is also implicated in payments received from Luchsinger.

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two weights and two measures