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The leader of the Liberal Party in the Chamber of Deputies, Sóstenes Cavalcante has harshly criticized President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva‘s recent statements about sports betting platforms labelling them as hypocritical.
According to Sóstenes, Lula adheres to a contradictory discourse by claiming that he intends to combat the negative impacts of betting, especially the indebtedness of the poorest population. For the congressman, Lula ignores the fact that it was the government itself that legalized this type of activity in the country.
“Today the clueless one (Lula) once again uses his hypocrisy to try to deceive Brazilians, saying that now he will put an end to the problem of betting in Brazil, claiming that they are only indebting the poorest,” declared the deputy.
The party leader argued that the regulation of sports betting occurred through a decree signed by the president in 2023, after strong government action in Congress. “Who signed (the bill) to legalize betting in Brazil was Lula. He signed to legalize it, and now he wants to say he will solve the problem. I hope that, despite his hypocrisy, he truly resolves it, through a provisional measure, and cancels bets immediately in Brazil,” he stated.
Cavalcante also stressed that he has always opposed gambling, alongside evangelical lawmakers and senators such as Eduardo Girão and Magno Malta. He recalled that the vote took place at the end of the legislative year, “in the lights-out,” with obstruction attempts until the last minutes.
“I have always been here, with a large part of the evangelical bloc, fighting against it. I remember that vote, obstructing until the last minute. I, yes, have the moral standing to speak against bets and any gambling,” he emphasized.
The deputy also accused government members of lobbying in favour of legalization.
“Who was lobbying to legalize it was the Lula government and the minister ‘Taxad,’” he said referring to the Finance Minister Fernando Haddad “who wanted to legalize. Now they’re whining,” he said.
Finally Sóstenes issued a direct challenge to the President of the Republic:
“I hope that, if you have any moral standing, you send a provisional measure to the Chamber of Deputies cancelling bets. Then, yes, I will have to agree with you,” he concluded.
The lawmaker was referring to a speech Lula made this month in Mauá, in Greater São Paulo. “We are going to take a very serious stance against gambling. They are taking money from the poor people of this country,” Lula said at the time.
