I need a governor who will help me do what must be done
Com o Brasil às vésperas de uma eleição que promete redefinir seus rumos, Lula desceu do plano nacional ao chão paraibano para pedir um aliado no palácio do governo estadual. Ao endossar o senador Veneziano Vital do Rêgo para governador da Paraíba, o ex-presidente não falava apenas de política local — falava da arquitetura necessária para governar um país continental, onde combater a pobreza exige parceiros nos estados. O gesto revelou uma lógica antiga e persistente: vitórias nacionais se constroem tijolo a tijolo, governadoria por governadoria.
- Veneziano ocupa o segundo lugar nas pesquisas com 17%, distante do incumbente João Azevêdo, que lidera com 33% — a janela é estreita, mas ainda aberta.
- Lula chega à Paraíba não como candidato em dificuldade, mas como líder em consolidação, com mais de dez pontos de vantagem sobre Bolsonaro nas pesquisas nacionais.
- O endosso transforma uma disputa estadual em capítulo de uma narrativa maior: quem governa a Paraíba governará junto com quem governa o Brasil.
- A campanha de Veneziano amplifica a mensagem nas redes com o slogan direto — 'quem vota em Lula vota em Vené' —, costurando os dois destinos eleitorais.
- O que ainda não se sabe é se a bênção presidencial será suficiente para encurtar a distância de dezesseis pontos que separa Veneziano da liderança.
Nos dias finais da campanha eleitoral brasileira de 2022, Lula fez um pedido direto aos paraibanos: eleger Veneziano Vital do Rêgo como governador era, segundo ele, condição para que juntos pudessem enfrentar a pobreza e a fome no estado. O recado era claro — precisava de um aliado no governo estadual, alguém disposto a trabalhar ao seu lado. Para quem confiava nele, votar em Veneziano era o passo seguinte.
As pesquisas mostravam um caminho íngreme. Veneziano, pelo MDB, marcava 17% e ocupava o segundo lugar, enquanto o governador João Azevêdo, do PSB, liderava com 33%. Nilvan Ferreira e Pedro Cunha Lima completavam o pelotão, deixando a corrida fragmentada e imprevisível.
No plano nacional, Lula não precisava de socorro — os institutos o mostravam à frente de Bolsonaro por mais de dez pontos no primeiro turno, com margem ainda maior em eventual segundo turno. O que ele fazia na Paraíba era cálculo de coalizão: presidentes precisam de governadores aliados para transformar política federal em realidade local.
A mensagem foi simples, no estilo que Lula pratica há décadas: preciso de um governador que me ajude a fazer o que precisa ser feito. Não era um elogio às qualidades individuais de Veneziano — era um convite à confiança por transferência. A campanha do senador ecoou o endosso nas redes sociais, amarrando os dois destinos eleitorais num único slogan.
Se o apoio presidencial seria suficiente para aproximar Veneziano da liderança, as semanas seguintes responderiam. Mas uma coisa já estava feita: a disputa pelo governo da Paraíba havia sido incorporada à história maior sobre quem governaria o Brasil — e de que forma.
In the final stretch of Brazil's 2022 campaign season, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made a direct appeal to voters in Paraíba: elect Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo as governor, and together they would dismantle the state's poverty and hunger. The former president's endorsement was unambiguous. He needed an allied governor, Lula said, someone willing to work alongside him on the ground to accomplish what had to be done. For those who trusted him, voting for Veneziano was the logical next step.
The timing mattered. A TV Record/Real Time Big Data poll released the previous Monday showed Veneziano holding 17 percent of the vote, placing him second in the gubernatorial race. Incumbent João Azevêdo of the PSB led with 33 percent, seeking another term. Nilvan Ferreira of the PL trailed at 15 percent, followed by Pedro Cunha Lima of the PSDB at 14 percent. Veneziano, representing the MDB, occupied the middle ground—close enough to the frontrunner to be viable, but not yet commanding the state.
Lula's endorsement arrived as his own national position strengthened. The Ipec polling institute showed him winning the presidency in the first round. Datafolha's most recent survey, released six days earlier, had him more than ten percentage points ahead of incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a first-round matchup, with a margin exceeding fifteen points if the race went to a runoff. The presidential candidate was not struggling; he was consolidating.
What Lula was doing in Paraíba, then, was coalition arithmetic. A president needs governors—allies in the state capitals who can implement federal policy, deliver resources, and build political infrastructure. Veneziano, a senator with roots in the state, represented that possibility. The endorsement was a signal that Lula's vision for fighting poverty and hunger in Paraíba was not something he would attempt alone from Brasília. It required a partner in the governor's mansion.
The statement itself was simple and direct, the kind of language Lula had used for decades: I need a governor who will help me do the things we have to do. The framing was not about Veneziano's individual merits or platform—it was about alignment, about shared purpose. If you trust me, Lula was saying, trust this man. The message was amplified through social media, with Veneziano's campaign account posting the endorsement alongside the slogan: whoever votes for Lula votes for Vené.
What remained unclear was whether Veneziano's second-place position would hold, or whether Lula's backing would move him closer to Azevêdo's lead. The race was still weeks away. But the endorsement had accomplished one thing clearly: it had bound the state-level contest to the presidential one, making Paraíba's governorship part of a larger story about who would govern Brazil and how.
Citações Notáveis
I need a governor who will help me do the things we have to do, so we can end poverty and hunger in Paraíba. If you trust Lula, you can vote for Veneziano because things will happen in Paraíba.— Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a presidential candidate spend time endorsing a state governor when he's already winning nationally?
Because winning the presidency is one thing. Governing is another. You need people in the states who will actually implement what you're trying to do—who will work with you, not against you.
But Veneziano was already in second place. Wouldn't he have had a chance anyway?
Maybe. But second place in a four-way race isn't the same as winning. Lula's endorsement was a signal to voters who were still undecided or wavering. It says: this person has my trust, and I'll need him.
The incumbent was ahead by sixteen points. That's a big gap to close.
It is. But endorsements can move votes, especially when they come from someone as popular as Lula was at that moment. And even if Veneziano didn't win, the endorsement tied him to a winning presidential campaign—valuable for his political future either way.
What's the actual promise here? What does Lula say he'll do?
End poverty and hunger in Paraíba. It's the same agenda he's been running on nationally. But he's saying it can't happen without a governor who's aligned with him, who will work on it at the state level.
Is that realistic? Can a governor and president really eliminate poverty together?
It's ambitious language, the kind politicians use. But it signals intent and priority. Whether it happens depends on resources, political will, and a hundred other factors. The endorsement is the first step—it's about building the coalition that would attempt it.