Brazilian presidential candidates, Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, took the campaign to their respective electoral reductions on Saturday to take a breath in the face of the two weeks that are missing for the second round.
The ultra-right-wing winner Bolsonaro visited the state of Rio de Janeiro, the region where he was born and where he was imposed with 53 % of the votes last Sunday in front of his rival, who obtained 39 %.
Today's event was accompanied by his ally Douglas Ruas, newly declared state governor after a vote count, which is why the ultra-right candidate now has a major support for the October 25 round of the race.
In the municipality of São Gonçalo, working class and located on the outskirts of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro invoked God and asked for the support of the population.
«You will see Flavio in the inauguration by doing a prayer and putting Brazil in the hands of God,» he said, on a truck.
He also said that his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), currently in house prison, will be placed by the presidential band if he wins the election.
Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced in 2025 to 27 years in prison for attempted coup d'état, was visited today in his residence in Brasilia by another son, Carlos, who said that the father is «happy» for the result of the first round.
Among the dozens of followers who participated in the rally, was João Rosendo, 63, who said he expected a change to end the populism and corruption that associated the current Government.
«(Lula) is leading us to a hole, poverty, crime and lack of investment in infrastructure, education and health,» he told EBE.
Lula, en el noreste
While Bolsonaro was on the way to Rio de Janeiro, President Lula, a candidate for re-election, went to Rio Grande do Norte, a state in the north-east of Brazil, the traditional electoral bastion of the progressive leader.
In Natal City, he went to the streets with the candidate for governor of the Workers' Party (PT), Carlos Eduardo Xavier, who hopes to keep the regional government in the hands of this formation founded by Lula in the face of the progress of the ultra-right throughout the country.
During a press conference, the president criticized the rival's promise of public spending cuts and claimed its policies and investments in the region.
«I don't want to take anything out of any state in Brazil; I just want the north-east to have the same opportunities as the rest and to be treated equitably,» he said.
Although Lula won the first round in the north-east by a wide margin, she lost support for the last elections in 2022 in which she was elected, a cause for concern within the campaign.
In Rio Grande do Norte, he lost almost 30,000 votes, while in Bahia, the region's largest state, the reduction was over 200,000.
Beyond the rallies, the campaign is trying to strengthen the presence on social networks and this Saturday filed a complaint against the multinational Meta, who owns Facebook and Instagram, for alleged interference in favor of Bolsonaro.
A survey published after the first round showed the ultra candidate with the 52 % of the voting intentions, compared to the 48 % of Lula, a technical tie scenario if the margin of error is considered.
