Lula's steak for all promise comes back to bite him

A juicy steak could come between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his dreams of a fourth term.

While campaigning in 2022, the veteran leftist vowed to put "picanha" on the plates of the people but that promise has come back to haunt him as the price of Brazilians' favorite cut of beef -- a slab of rump bordered by a cap of fat -- creeps higher.

Lula's main rival in October's elections, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, delights in reminding Lula of his failure to deliver steak for all.

"Given that Lula did not bring picanha, I brought some here today," the 45-year-old conservative announced at a recent campaign event where he dished out plates of grilled meat.

The picanha is a relatively expensive cut in Brazil, the world's biggest beef exporter, where weekends are often spent barbecuing with family and friends.

It ranges in price from 80 to 110 reais ($15-$21) per kilo.

"When you eat picanha, you're eating like the rich," said Mirne Franco, owner of a butcher shop on the outskirts of the capital Brasilia.

Lula, who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, made a stunning comeback from a corruption scandal that saw him serve time to win a third term as the tried-and-true candidate of the working classes in 2022.

"The people will begin eating picanha again!" he declared in a typical barnstorming campaign speech.

Yet nearly four years later, the slab of meat costs nearly 10 percent more, figures from Brazil's statistics agency show.

On the eve of an election that is expected to be as close as Lula versus Bolsonaro senior four years ago, the issue of rising prices is fuelling voter anger.

"I voted for Lula, but I won't do it again because I see no change," said Lucas da Silva, a 23-year-old grill master at a popular Brasilia steakhouse.

The issue has been exploited by the right.

Pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira trolled Lula with a video featuring a housewife who is forced to put back a picanha of the "Promise" brand when she gets to the market checkout because she doesn't have enough money.

The video has racked up around 10 million views on social media.

Lula has attempted to defend his record with a battery of data showing the economy is in better shape than widely thought.

Food prices have risen on average four percent annually since 2022, down from over 11 percent on average during the last three years of Bolsonaro's presidency, which coincided partly with the Covid pandemic.

"An adversary showed a picanha on the TV because it's expensive. It would be good if these rivals, instead of going to the supermarket to make a spectacle of themselves, look at the facts so they know that things have improved a lot in this country," Lula hit back recently.

The incumbent has boasted of keeping inflation within the Central Bank's target of 3 percent plus or minus 1.5 points and of lowering unemployment to historic lows.

But economic growth has slowed and consumer spending has fallen.

"Poor people only know the picanha by name," Franco the butcher shop owner said as one of her staff cut a whole slab into smaller, more economical portions.

Marcela Alves Cesar, a secretary working in Brazil's parliament, said she "loves" beef but has recently begun switching to chicken, as both a healthier and cheaper alternative.

In the first round of the election on October 4 she plans to vote for Bolsonaro because "many other things have also become expensive."

Robson Carvalho, a researcher at Brasilia National University, said Lula's "picanha for the people" promise was meant figuratively, not literally, to signify his plans "to contain food prices."

Carlos Roberto dos Santos, a rancher with 1,500 head of cattle, said Lula knew he couldn't control the price of beef, which is subject to supply and demand and not set by the government.

"It's a populist promise," Roberto said dismissively.