UPDATE 1-Brazil's Lula hints at 2026 re-election bid

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva suggested on Friday that he will stand for re-election in 2026, but stopped short of making a formal announcement.

"Get ready. If everything goes the way I am thinking, this country will, for the first time, have a president elected four times by the Brazilian people," Lula told an event in Rio de Janeiro. The 79-year-old leftist leader was elected in 2022 for his third non-consecutive term, having previously served as president between 2003 and 2010.

His remarks come as he faces a popularity crisis, with his approval ratings hovering around historic lows

amid high inflation

in Latin America's largest economy, and tensions with Congress

, where he lacks a solid coalition. Lula is Brazil's oldest sitting president ever and has had some

health scares , including a pair of emergency surgeries last year to treat and prevent bleeding in his head.

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