Lula asking for votes for Boulos is against the legislation, says Tabata

The federal deputy and pre-candidate for Mayor of São Paulo, Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), stated this Wednesday (May 8, 2024) that the speeches of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who asked for votes for also federal deputy and pre-candidate for the position Guilherme Boulos (Psol- SP), go against electoral legislation.

However, in an interview with Power360the congresswoman said that she did not oppose the declaration due to the decision of her party, the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party), which is part of the government base, and because there are already ongoing processes regarding the case.

“There are electoral rules that must be followed, democracy depends on respecting these rules. There is a law that makes it very clear that you cannot ask for a vote at this time. That is why there is a process and those involved will have to justify themselves to the courts”, declared.

Watch (2min32s):

During a union-based event on Labor Day in São Paulo, Lula praised Boulos and asked his voters to vote for the pre-candidate. At the time, she also said that the psolist would be competing in a “real war” in Sao Paulo. Boulos’ main opponent in the dispute for the capital of São Paulo is Ricardo Nunes (MDB), current mayor.

“Nobody will defeat this guy here if you vote for Boulos for mayor of São Paulo in the next elections. I’m going to make an appeal: every person who voted for Lula in 1989, in 1994, in 1996, in 2006, in 2010, in 2022, has to vote for Boulos for mayor of São Paulo“, he said.

The speech led to criticism from members of the government opposition and other pre-candidate campaigns for Mayor of São Paulo. Mayor Ricardo Nunes and federal deputy and pre-candidate Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil-SP) took legal action against the statements.

Afterwards, the TRE-SP (Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo) ordered that the content be deleted. The broadcast of the event, made on the government channel, was deleted.

The PP (Progressive Party) even asked the court to recognize that the declaration constitutes an early electoral campaign.

This is not the first time that Boulos’ candidacy has been the subject of lawsuits. Tabata Amaral’s own campaign sued the Psol deputy for irregular dissemination of the electoral campaign.

In an image shared on social media, results from different scenarios of an electoral survey were grouped together, implying that Boulos would be ahead against them all. The research was called “Frankenstein” by the electoral court and overturned. Boulos was also ordered to pay a fine of R$53,200.

Polarized dispute

Asked about the polarization of municipal elections similar to that of the 2022 presidential election, Tabata Amaral, who has been positioned in 3rd place in electoral polls, said that the dispute for the city is being “small” by figures who are not running for mayor, in reference to Lula and former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Tabata said he would compose a government with figures from the center-left and center-right and not a “repeat” of the last election. She also reaffirmed that she was advanced in negotiations for presenter José Luiz Datena to be her deputy mayor for the PSDB.

“There are serious people who were already part of the team [Gilberto] Kassab [PSD]of [Fernando] Haddad [PT]by Bruno Covas [PSDB] saying: ‘No, this project is serious and that’s why we’re going to come together’. The main alliance we have made so far is with these former secretaries and former ministers. Strong people who came to add”, declared the deputy.

Watch the full interview (32min45s):