Octogenarian incumbent contrasts his health with challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, who fainted during a TV debate
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is seeking to lunge and leg press his way to a historic fourth term, as the octogenarian politician uses a flurry of workout videos to convince voters he is fighting fit ahead of October’s crunch election.
Lula looks set to face off against a senator almost half his age in what will be the leftist’s seventh presidential campaign since he first sought Brazil’s top job in 1989, when he was 44.
Determined to show Lula is in fine fettle despite the passing years, allies have busied themselves publishing footage of the Worker’s party (PT) chief working out at the gym or taking a jog.
The most recent such video was livestreamed on Monday by Brazil’s first lady, Rosângela “Janja” da Silva, showing Lula performing squats during an early morning fitness session, a white towel draped around his neck, Rocky Balboa-style.
