Lula, Bolsonaro trade blows in final scramble for votes in Brazil election

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and rival Flavio Bolsonaro pulled no punches in a last-ditch effort to win voters ahead of today’s election in Brazil.

US President Donald Trump said he was “very closely” watching the nail-biter poll, which comes after a string of recent right-wing victories across Latin America.

US pressure has loomed large over an insult-driven, scandal-littered campaign that has done little to mend Brazil’s political fragmentation.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves Brazil’s flag next to first lady Rosangela Janja da Silva during a campaign in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Friday.

Photo: AFP

Edinho Silva, president of Lula’s Workers’ Party said the US closing its consulates “makes absolutely no sense. It is one of the ways Trump has to vie for Brazilian public opinion.”

Veteran leftist Lula is in a dead heat with the son of far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in polls that predict an Oct. 25 runoff, which will take place if no candidate gets more than half the first-round vote.

Horns honked raucously at a Lula rally in Rio de Janeiro attended by thousands on Friday.

“The left has put itself in a position of defending the poorest, the weakest, the minorities,” pastor Alex de Oliveira Rangel said. “As Christians, we have to defend the values that are right for society and defend democracy, which is under serious threat from the right.”

Flavio Bolsonaro called for a “mega-motorcade” of motorcycles at his final campaign rally in Sao Paulo state yesterday.

Keenly aware of undecided voters, both sides have kept a close eye on anything they can twist to their advantage.

In recent days, the debate lasered in on Brazil’s patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, as rumors erupted that Flavio Bolsonaro planned to demote her if elected.

He issued fierce denials as Lula appeared clutching a statue of the beloved saint, declaring that “messing” with her was “unacceptable.”

Next, Bolsonaro and his supporters pounced when Lula said that men were “cowards” when it comes to getting their prostates examined, while “women learn to receive a touch from a young age,” referring to gynecological exams.

Clips of his comment circulated widely on social media as if it were an allusion to abuse.

Amid all the drama, many of the nation’s 160 million registered voters are disenchanted with their options.

“It’s really turned into a circus,” clothing shop employee Gisele Sousa said. “My vote won’t go to any of them.”

Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term, boasting he is fitter than ever despite his advanced age.

He made Brazilian sovereignty a central plank of his campaign, warning Trump not to “meddle” in Brazilian elections.

The former union leader has overseen a drop in inflation and unemployment while massively curbing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

However, voters complain about a high cost of living, and many are jaded by violence and crime.

The president unveiled a flurry of crowd-pleasing measures over the past few weeks, increasing social welfare payments and banning sports betting that has ensnared many in debts and gambling addiction.