José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (who was president of the government of Spain between and 2011, which is equivalent to the position of first- minister) said he believed that the consolidation of leftist governments in Latin America “raises reasons for hope”, stating that former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) still needs to win the elections in Brazil so that he can become the “leader most important” in the region.
With the sole exception of Costa Rica, where Rodrigo Chaves of the Social Democratic Progress party won the May elections, Latin America has seen left-wing candidates rise to the presidency in recent years: first in Peru, with Pedro Castillo; then Gabriel Boric in Chile, Xiomara Castro in Honduras and, more recently, Gustavo Petro in Colombia.
“I have well-founded hopes that this international political system, which is currently sliding down the slope of violence, war, non-cooperation, will recover on the side of Latin America, which needs Lula as its most important leader”, declared the former Spanish socialist president, who ruled the country between 2011 and 2011, stating that he is still convinced that PT will defeat President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the second round.
