With the official start of Brazil’s 2026 election race just months away, several iconic and controversial figures are reappearing as candidates, supported by judicial and political reevaluations of scandals that once pushed them out of public life. Influential figures from various parties who lost political rights after convictions—but continued to influence politics behind the scenes without holding official office—are now attempting to return to elected positions.
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Among the key figures planning to run is José Dirceu, former chief of staff during President Lula’s first presidential term and former president of the Workers’ Party (PT). Responding to Lula’s call for traditional party leaders to bolster congressional candidacies, Dirceu decided to run for a seat in the Lower House representing São Paulo. He contends that the return of experienced political figures strengthens the political debate. “The restoration of political rights and the return of experienced leaders to electoral competition strengthen Brazilian democracy. It is not about past versus future, but about plurality, accumulated political experience, and the ability to face the challenges of a country in transition.”
Eduardo Cunha — Foto: Ruy Baron/Valor
Dirceu said the current political climate in Brazil and around the world demands “qualified debate, clear projects and leaders with institutional experience, democratic commitment and the capacity for political negotiation.” “My role also includes helping President Lula in his fourth term to consolidate a sovereign and democratic national development project,” he added.
A prominent figure within the PT and a close ally of Lula, Dirceu was convicted of crimes including corruption, money laundering, and criminal conspiracy in the mensalão and Car Wash scandals, with sentences that at one point exceeded 30 years. He was jailed and released several times between 2015 and 2019. The convictions, however, were later annulled or revised by Brazil’s Supreme Court, which ruled that the federal court in Curitiba lacked jurisdiction to judge the cases.
Another PT figure returning to electoral politics is João Paulo Cunha after a period away from institutional politics. The former Speaker of the Lower House was convicted in 2013, in the mensalão case, a vote-buying scheme in Congress uncovered in 2005. After completing a master’s degree and opening a law firm, he said he began reflecting on Brazil’s political landscape and had been encouraged by Lula to run again. Following a public appeal from the president, he decided to run for a congressional seat representing São Paulo. He described the current political moment as “tough,” marked by tensions between branches of government, and said he is preparing to face it.
Cunha said he was convicted in what he describes as an “absurd” and “ridiculous” ruling, which allowed him to move past the episode quickly. In his view, Brazil experienced a period during which the judicial process became a political tool, citing the mensalão and Car Wash (the large, now-questioned anti-corruption probe) scandals as examples. He served more than two years in semi-open and open prison regimes, and in 2016, the Supreme Court granted him a presidential pardon.
According to him, this year’s elections will be tough, and society remains deeply divided. “Those who oppose the PT tend to bring up the mensalão and Car Wash, while Lula’s allies will keep condemning the political persecution those cases represented. In the future, these episodes of excess will be reevaluated, just as events involving Getúlio Vargas are reevaluated today,” he said.
In Brazil’s Federal District (Brasília), former governor José Roberto Arruda announced his pre-candidacy for the Palácio do Buriti, the seat of the local government, reshaping political maneuvering in the region. Arruda argues that he remained out of public life for a period disproportionate to the accusations he faced. “There is no life sentence in Brazil. I stayed out of politics for 15 years for receiving R$20,000 two years before an election, all duly recorded. Compared with the Banco Master case, that would go to small-claims court. It’s disproportionate,” he said.
He still faces legal challenges, however. In 2024, he was convicted of administrative misconduct in a case related to Operation Pandora’s Box, leading to a new eight-year ban from holding office. His request to overturn the conviction was denied by Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ).
Even so, a recent change to Brazil’s Clean Slate Law might allow his return to the electoral arena under certain interpretations, after amendments redefined the starting point for calculating the period of ineligibility. “There was enormous asymmetry—you could be banned from public life indefinitely regardless of the gravity of the case,” the former governor argues.
Another figure aiming to return to legislative politics is former powerful Speaker of the Lower House Eduardo Cunha, who is expected to run for a congressional seat representing Minas Gerais. In 2022, he ran for office in São Paulo but was not elected.
Removed from office in 2016 after leading the impeachment process against then-President Dilma Rousseff, Cunha was later sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison as part of the Car Wash investigation. He served just over three years in prisons in Paraná and Rio de Janeiro before being transferred to house arrest. In May 2023, the Supreme Court annulled his conviction, ruling that the case should not have been tried by the 13th Federal Court in Curitiba.
To Valor, Cunha says he views his return to public life after a decade away as “natural.” “My departure was political, due to the impeachment process I led. A congressman’s actions must honor those who voted for him, and that is what I intend to do. Then, I will continue to act as I always have during my terms in office,” he said.
Roberto Liavianu, president of the Institute Não Aceito Corrupção (“I Do Not Accept Corruption”), attributes the recent political comebacks to changes in the Clean Slate Law. “The essence of the law was the eight-year period of ineligibility after a final conviction. Shortening this penalty is a mockery of the public and guarantees impunity by law, allowing figures convicted of crimes to return more quickly to political life. It violates the primacy of the public interest,” he said.
For him, “it is a serious sign of democratic decline that we have weakened the law only 15 years after its approval.”
The main changes to the Clean Slate Law approved last year included an earlier start for the eight-year ineligibility period and a maximum cap of 12 years, even in cases with multiple convictions.
Although Arruda’s eligibility is still being challenged by opponents, his indication that he will return to electoral politics has already altered the political landscape in the Federal District, and until electoral courts make a final decision, his name is likely to stay prominent in polls and political talks.
Political scientist Cristiano Noronha of Arko Advice said the return of political figures after periods of removal and conviction is not new in Brazil’s history. He cites examples such as Getúlio Vargas and Fernando Collor to illustrate how Brazilian politics has often experienced cycles of decline and resurgence.
According to Noronha, the possible return of these figures to Congress could shift the balance of power in the legislature. “These are figures who exert influence regardless of formal office. Their accumulated experience, political connections, and negotiating skills make them relevant actors in legislative dynamics,” he said.
Noronha contends that within the pro-government camp, there is a clear plan to bolster congressional caucuses by adding experienced figures. “The PT’s strategy involves relaunching heavyweight names with consolidated political experience, capable of strengthening not only the number but also the quality of congressional caucuses in terms of political coordination,” he said.
He mentioned that questioning alleged abuses in the Car Wash investigation helped shape the narrative of political persecution, making it easier for certain figures to reenter the electoral scene. At the same time, he observed that past convictions could be used by political opponents during campaigns.
Renato Ribeiro, a professor and member of the Brazilian Academy of Electoral Law, believes that politicians returning to the ballot box can be beneficial. “I see this situation positively. The Clean Slate Law was created in 2010 to establish an eight-year ineligibility penalty. It does not speak of a permanent ban from politics, because that would be unconstitutional. Brazilian law does not allow someone to be excluded from political life forever,” he said. According to him, once the period of ineligibility has been served, there is no legal obstacle to a return to politics.
Electoral law professor Fernando Neisser of Fundação Getulio Vargas agrees. “It is natural for politicians who have served their penalties to return to political life. The recent changes to the Clean Slate Law corrected distortions that existed,” he said. According to him, before the legislative changes, individuals convicted of less serious offenses sometimes faced longer periods of ineligibility than public officials convicted of wrongdoing while in office.
