With an eye on 2026, Lula returns to his political birthplace and waves to women

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated, this Saturday (18), that having a profession is something almost “sacred” for women, so that they have financial independence and freedom. Amid the rise in cases of domestic violence in Brazil, he highlighted that women are not “punching bags” for men.

The nod to the female electorate comes at a time when the president is under pressure to nominate a woman for Minister Luís Roberto Barroso’s vacancy at the Superior Federal Court (STF). The speech took place during a meeting with students from the network of popular courses, in São Bernardo do Campo, in the ABC region of São Paulo.

In his political birthplace, Lula arrived in a red shirt and panama hat and was applauded by his fans. A relevant part of the 22-minute speech was dedicated to women. At his side were the ministers of Education, Camilo Santana, of Finance, Fernando Haddad, of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, and of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho.

— A girl, or a woman… A profession for her is almost a sacred thing. Because, for a woman, a profession means independence. A woman cannot live with someone behind a plate of food. She cannot support her husband because he pays the rent. A woman has to live with other people if she wants to. Therefore, she has to treat herself with respect, with dignity. If she has a profession, no one will try to make fun of her — he said.

The president also highlighted that violence against women has increased in Brazil. And he said that his mother, who died illiterate, always taught him to never lift a finger at a partner.

— A man who hits his wife is not a man. Because women cannot be any man’s punching bag – he argued.

The meeting had a campaign atmosphere and brought together supporters from various locations in the state of São Paulo, as well as Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. Before the president’s arrival, the entertainer said hello through the microphone, encouraged the audience to turn on their cell phone flashlights and repeated slogans.

Students preparing for the 2025 National High School Exam (Enem), educators and coordinators of popular courses filled the Adib Moysés Dib Multisport Gymnasium, with capacity for 7,200 people.

The agenda targets the 2026 presidential election. In an interval of eight days, this is the second event that President Lula has scheduled in the state governed by one of his likely opponents in the dispute for the Planalto Palace: Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans).

On Friday (10), the PT member chose São Paulo as the stage for the ceremony in which he launched a package of measures to encourage the purchase and renovation of properties by the middle class.