Electoral struggle in Brazil: Lula da Silva talks about hunger and Jair Bolsonaro defends aid to the poor

Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, stepped out this Saturday to defend subsidies his government grants to the poor, in his first TV campaign, while his main rival for the October elections, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, denounced the increased hunger.

Bolsonaro has used his space on TV to promise that, if he wins the October 2 election, he will keep the new subsidies his government has started providing to 20 poor families this month, amid great controversy, because the electoral law vetoes the granting of new social benefits during the campaign period.

The new subsidies implied a 50% increase in the main government welfare program, which reached up to 600 reais (about 120 dollars) per family.

To approve this increase it was necessary to go to Parliament to declare a state of emergency and approve a constitutional amendment.

Bolsonaro’s propaganda, which has 2.38 minutes in each ad block, the second-longest time of all candidates, also claimed that the government is managing to create jobs and lowering the price of fuel, thanks to new grants recently approved with just as much controversy.

In the announcement, the far-right leader was described as “a simple, honest and direct man who talks about what he thinks and what he feels”.

hunger and hope

Lula, with the support of ten parties, has one minute more television than Bolsonaro (3.39 minutes) and has used her screen time to denounce that “millions of Brazilian brothers and sisters have nothing to eat”.

Without mentioning Bolsonaro, Lula wondered “how can such a rich country go back so far?” and “how can a ruler not worry about the suffering of so many people?”

Bolsonaro sparked controversy on Friday, denying that there is a “hunger for truth” in Brazil, claiming he doesn’t see people begging for bread at the doors of bakeries.

Lula’s campaign announcement asks the voter “which Brazil do you want, that of hate or that of love?” and promises to “rebuild” the country.

The TV window

Television has always played a pivotal role in elections since the country’s redemocratization in the 1980s, because it is the only way for candidates to get their message across to all voters, which would otherwise be impossible given Brazil’s continental dimensions. .

The only exception occurred precisely in the 2018 campaign, when Bolsonaro managed to be the most voted candidate in the first round, despite having only a few seconds on screen at the time, which is partly explained by the hard work done by his countryside. on social networks.

Despite what happened in 2018, television and radio continue to be key to reaching the poorand especially in rural areas, where Internet penetration is still far from the country average.

In an effort to reach that electorate, on its first radio show this Saturday, the Bolsonaro campaign used a loud speaker from northeastern Brazil, the poorest region in the country and where Lula has a greater advantage in the polls.

In Brazil as a whole, polls show that Lula leads Bolsonaro by about 15 percentage points, but in the Northeast the difference between the two reaches 35 points.

This Sunday should be one of the most decisive moments of the campaign elections, as the first debate will be held, and probably the only one for the first round of elections.

The six main candidates for the presidency were invited to the debate and, for the moment, the only one who has not officially confirmed his presence is Bolsonaro, amid strong speculations. The president admitted this Friday the possibility of attending the meeting, on the Band channel, although he said he hopes to be “shot” by all his opponents.

Source: EFE

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