Brazil’s presidential candidates, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro, staged large rallies on Saturday in a final display of campaign strength ahead of a closely contested run-off election. The vote is set for Sunday.
Lula, wearing a red hat, addressed hundreds of supporters at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Waving a Brazilian flag from a campaign truck, he spoke as crowds gathered on the last day of campaigning.
Lula targets rival’s ties to Trump
Speaking to the crowd, the 80-year-old said voters had to choose between a candidate who honours the national flag and one who honours the American flag. He was referring to his opponent’s links with US President Donald Trump.
Also read: Lula challenges Bolsonaro to publish personal financial records
Lula is seeking a fourth term, though not a consecutive one. Sunday’s run-off will ask Brazilians whether to keep their incumbent left-wing leader or follow a wider regional move towards the right.
Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator and son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, won 47 percent of the first-round vote. That was narrowly ahead of Lula’s 45 percent.
Polls show Lula and Bolsonaro nearly level
Recent polling suggests the two remain about even on the eve of the vote. A CNT/MDA survey released on Saturday put Bolsonaro at 46.3 percent and Lula at 45 percent.
A poll the previous week had shown a slightly tighter contest, with Bolsonaro at 46.8 percent and Lula at 45.9 percent. The latest survey carried a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro’s backers, including hundreds of motorcyclists in yellow Brazil football shirts, gathered in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Supporter Ebert Dorigo accused Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) of encouraging dependence on welfare. He told AFP that the country needed a change of direction, arguing that division came from people who had not accepted that progress comes only through hard work.
Divided voters face a difficult choice
The campaign has exposed sharp divisions over economic policy, crime and the country’s political future. Bolsonaro has pledged to tackle crime with hundreds of thousands of additional prison places and cuts to government spending.
His father, who served as president from 2019 to 2022, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing that year’s election to Lula.
In their final debate on Friday, the two candidates adopted a calmer tone, although they traded accusations over the country’s economic difficulties and each other’s records. For some voters, the decision is hard. Gabriela Ribeiro Viana, an event organiser, told AFP that another candidate would be a better option, but said voters were left choosing between the worst options and the lesser evil.
