Less than five minutes into the debate on TV Bandeirantes, in October 2006, the then Tucano candidate Geraldo Alckmin, 73, went on the attack against Lula (PT) and demanded the origin of the "dirty money" that would have been used to buy a dossier against PSDB politicians. Opponents in that year's presidential race, the two had a tough confrontation in the campaign, with accusations and criticism.
Twenty years later, the rivalry gave way to an alliance. Lula's current vice-president, Alckmin (PSB) is seeking re-election and reaches the second round as the PT member's bid to attract center and right-wing voters who reject Flávio Bolsonaro (PL). Discreet for much of the campaign, he gained ground in the final stretch.
Since the formation of the ticket, in 2022, the former tucano has acted as a bridge between Lula and an electorate historically less linked to the PT member, mainly in the business community.
In May of that year, at the launch of the pre-candidacy, Alckmin even joked about the term "chayote popsicle", a nickname that Lula himself had already used to refer to his "bland" style. In a video speech during the event, he said in a relaxed tone: "Squid is a dish that goes well with chayote."
In the PT member's third term, Alckmin held the vice-presidency with the position of Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services and became one of the government's main interlocutors with the United States after the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. The results of these negotiations pleased Lula, who confirmed the repeat of the ticket in this year's dispute.
Before the first round, Alckmin participated in a campaign effort to reissue the pact with sectors of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) that supported Lula in 2022. At a dinner with businesspeople in September, he promised a surplus in public accounts and defended cutting privileges in the Judiciary and the Legislature.
He also recorded a video saying that he and Lula would protect religious traditions, amid false rumors that Flávio would take away the title of patron saint of Our Lady of Aparecida.
After the result of October 4th, the campaign decided to give more protagonism to the vice president. In Hortolândia (SP), Alckmin participated in a meeting with mayors and councilors of São Paulo, which was attended by parties linked to Flávio, such as PL, PP and União Brasil. The proposal was to show that a new Lula government would not discriminate against mayors from other parties.
Over the course of ten days, he was in Campinas, São Carlos, Curitiba, São Bernardo, Poços de Caldas, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.
Alckmin's role in the campaign changed amid discomfort among people close to Lula with the exposure given to him compared to that of the first lady, Janja. The dissatisfaction was expressed by former senator Kátia Abreu (PT), who defended "less Janja and more Alckmin". The speech was applauded by PT members.
In the first TV program of the second round, Janja was left out, and the vice-president appeared in a selfie video, PT's strategy to boost the campaign.
On the night of the first round, Lula said that no one had the moral authority to talk about fiscal seriousness to him and Alckmin. The following day, the Reuters agency said that the PT member was considering announcing his vice-president as Finance Minister if he is re-elected.
Chapa reunites old opponents
In the 2018 campaign, Alckmin was a candidate for President of the Republic for the PSDB and even said that the PT would never have his support to "return to the scene of the crime". He finished the race in fourth place, with less than 4.8% of the votes.
After the defeat, the toucan was left without a mandate. The following year, he started giving health tips on TV. On Ronnie Von's program, on TV Gazeta, he even talks about acupuncture.
In December 2021, Alckmin leaves the PSDB, the party he helped found, and joins the PSB. This is when the rapprochement with Lula begins.
Months after switching parties, in April 2022, Lula formalizes the ticket with his former opponent as vice-president. In the words of the PT member, both had changed. "Happy was this Brazil when the polarization was between PSDB and PT", he said during the event that formalized the alliance.
When he joined the PSB to be Lula's vice president, in March 2022, Alckmin was a defendant in the Electoral Court in a case opened based on allegations from Odebrecht. In 2020, the São Paulo Public Ministry indicted him on charges of passive corruption, money laundering and slush fund. The Prosecutor's Office stated that he received undeclared R$11.3 million from the construction company in campaigns for the São Paulo government in 2010 and 2014, which he denies.
The criminal action was closed by order of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), which also considered evidence obtained from Odebrecht systems to be illegal. Based on this understanding, Minister Dias Toffoli filed an improbity action in October 2024 regarding the 2014 transfers.
In March 2022, weeks before he was appointed vice-president, the Electoral Court also closed an investigation opened based on the testimony of a former president of Ecovias, due to a lack of evidence to corroborate the report. Alckmin denies receiving illegal donations.
Anesthesiologist, he started in politics in 1972, at the age of 19, as a councilor in Pindamonhangaba (SP), his hometown. He was mayor, state deputy and federal deputy, and deputy to Mário Covas, whom he succeeded in the São Paulo government in 2001. He commanded the state for four terms and ran for President in 2006 and 2018.
He is married to Lu Alckmin, who attended campaign events such as the one in Praça da Sé, on September 27th, and Avenida Paulista, on October 11th. To the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), the deputy declared assets of R$3.3 million, most of it in financial investments and private pensions, in addition to an apartment in São Paulo and properties in Pindamonhangaba.
With Lu, he had three children. The youngest, Thomaz, died at the age of 31, in 2015, in a helicopter crash in Carapicuíba (SP).
