The two favorites for the presidential elections in Brazil, Lula and Jair Bolsonaro, officially launch their campaign this Tuesday in places that have deeply marked their political careers, less than 50 days before a highly polarized vote.
Favorite in the polls, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 76, will visit a Volkswagen factory in his stronghold of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, an industrial zone where he was a lathe operator before becoming a union leader. President Bolsonaro will travel to Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais, in the southeast of the country, where he was on the verge of death in a knife attack four years ago.
The 67-year-old former army captain has wanted to take the symbolism down to the smallest detail: he will deliver his speech at noon on a platform installed at the same crossroads where he had been stabbed by an unbalanced person on September 6, 2018. Security in the surroundings of the main candidates in the election whose first round will take place on October 2 has been considerably reinforced to avoid any incident. Lula and Bolsonaro no longer travel without bulletproof vests and crowds are strictly controlled.
The “Workers’ Representative” and “God’s Chosen”
The leftist former president was supposed to launch his campaign Tuesday morning at another factory in Sao Paulo, but the event was canceled after his security team identified potential risks, according to Brazilian media. The visit to Sao Bernardo do Campo is no less emblematic. “Lula has always gone there at key moments in his political career, to reinforce his image as a representative of the workers,” Adriano Laureno, a political analyst at the Prospectiva consultancy, told AFP.
“As for Bolsonaro, he wants to present himself as a ‘chosen of God’ who survived the attack” of 2018, continues this specialist, for whom this election is “the most polarized since redemocratization” after the military dictatorship (1964-1985). The two favorites have already been touring the country for several weeks to get in touch with voters, but the official campaign, with rallies and handing out flyers, is only authorized as of this Tuesday. TV spots will only air from August 26.
Dispute Risks
This Tuesday will also be marked at dawn by the enthronement of Judge Alexandre de Moraes as president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). This Supreme Court magistrate is one of President Bolsonaro’s pet peeves, against whom he ordered an investigation to be opened for disseminating false information about the electoral system. The head of state has constantly questioned the reliability of the electronic ballot boxes used in the country since 1996, citing “fraud” without ever providing evidence.
Attacks that fear that it will not recognize the result of the vote in case of defeat. Lula and Bolsonaro have been invited to the investiture of Judge Moraes and therefore could end this first official campaign day together at the TSE headquarters in Brasilia.
The youth at the heart of the battle
On Monday night, a survey by the Ipec institute gave the former left-wing president a comfortable advantage, with 44% voting intentions in the first round, compared to 32% for the current head of state. At the end of July, an opinion poll by the other reference institute, Datafolha, reported a larger gap: 47% for Lula, 29% for Bolsonaro.
The Head of State intends to catch up with the social aid recently approved by Parliament during a controversial reform of the Constitution that exceptionally authorizes new expenses during the electoral period. He played his trump card by bringing his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, to the front of the stage, seducing the evangelical electorate with fiery speeches that resembled the sermons of a pastor.
The president also addressed young people by giving a more than five-hour interview to a popular podcast that was viewed by more than half a million people.
Lula is also trying to rejuvenate his image to regain ground on social media, where he is far behind Bolsonaro in terms of subscribers. Supported by many artists, such as pop star Anitta, the former metallurgist does not hesitate to post humorous videos on Tik Tok, the network that is all the rage among young people.
Source: BFM TV
