Bolsonaro uses Brazil’s 200th anniversary to campaign

Brazilian President Bolsonaro used the country’s 200th anniversary to campaign. On a public holiday, he criticized his October presidential opponent, Lula da Silva.

The president, in power since 2019, attended military shows in several cities across the country and addressed his supporters. In his speech in Rio de Janeiro, the president called his opponent a “gangster” and compared Lula to powerful leftist leaders in Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Bolsonaro is campaigning, among other things, by promising to tackle high gasoline and food prices. Lula focuses, among other things, on reducing unemployment by creating jobs in the industrial sector.

Bolsonaro received passionate applause during his speech:

The right-wing populist Bolsonaro is far behind the left-wing Lula in the polls, although he seems to be gaining a little more ground in recent weeks. During the celebration, however, the president said he did not attach any value to the polls. Previously, Bolsonaro had questioned the reliability of Brazil’s digital voting system.

Opponents fear that the president is resigned to losing an election. During the independence celebrations, however, the president did not discuss possible electoral fraud.

In the capital Brasilia, where he also spoke to thousands of supporters, he said nothing about the country’s struggle to become independent, but mainly talked about what he had achieved as president. He was enthusiastically applauded by his supporters, who had donned the national colors of green and yellow.

Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2010, replied that as president he had never used the national holiday for political purposes. Other presidential candidates have also criticized Bolsonaro’s presentation on National Independence Day. Several leaders of opposition parties have mentioned a possible judicial inquiry into the course of events.

After his speech in Brasilia, Bolsonaro attended another military spectacle on Copacabana beach. Cannons were fired and planes flew low. The President delivered a speech from the trailer of a truck. On the back was a flag on which was written “clean and transparent elections”.

When Bolsonaro announced his intention to run for president at the end of July, he already called on his supporters to come to Independence Day celebrations in droves to support him.