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Bolsonaro and Lula hold final rallies before Brazil elections

Saturday, 01 October 2022 11:12 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 01 October 2022 11:12 AM ]

Former Brazilian president Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, running for a third term, and his wife Rosangela da Silva greet supporters in Salvador on Friday. (Photo by Reuters)

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his front-runner opponent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hold rival rallies within spitting distance of each other as the presidential campaign will come to an end on Saturday.

Bolsonaro, the far-right populist leader is planning to organize one of his trademark motorcycle rallies from the north side of Sao Paulo to the city's Ibirapuera park, whereas, five kilometers away from there, Lula, who led the country from 2003 to 2010, will hold his rally on the economic capital's main avenue, Avenida Paulista.

The first round of elections are due to take place on Sunday, and if no candidates make it up to the 50 percent vote mark, the top two will go to the second round in four weeks.

Throughout the election campaigning, Lula has retained his strong lead against Bolsonaro. According to a survey by the consulting firm Datafolha, 47 percent of people said that they planned to vote for Lula, whereas, Bolsonaro rested at 36 percent.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he will not accept the poll results if he loses the election, noting, "only God" can remove him from office, as he alleges a fraud in Brazil's electronic voting system.

On Thursday night, when the two faced each other for a heated debate, Bolsonaro brought up the corruption charges that have long dogged Lula, and had landed him in jail for 18 months, until the Supreme Court annulled his convictions last year.

"You liar, ex-inmate, traitor," Bolsonaro spat at Lula.

However, violence has become quite common in the political scene in Brazil. Recently, a Bolsonaro supporter had stabbed a Lula backer to death. Similar incidences also took place.

Earlier, Lula had warned to brace up for an increase in violence in the run-up to elections.

With the pasts of both candidates full of controversy, Brazilians are left on the crossroads on picking who will offer them the best path forward.

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