Thousands march fearing return of a Bolsonaro presidency in Brazil

Thousands of people joined a student march Wednesday in downtown Rio de Janeiro to protest presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro and a surge of the far-right in Brazil.

Wearing stickers declaring “Never Again Bolsonaro” and “No to the father, no to the son,” Brazilians, young and old, joined the spirited student march after the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro finished first in Sunday’s election.

Flavio Bolsonaro and second-placed candidate, the veteran leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will battle it out in a run-off on Oct 25.

“I’m here because I believe in democracy. Because I’m scared,” said Alice Carneiro, 25, an administrator in maritime shipping, crying as she expressed fears about a possible backlash against her wife, who is trans.

Protesters evoked life under Jair Bolsonaro, who was in office from 2019 to 2022 and is remembered for his handling of the pandemic, which claimed more than 700,000 lives in Brazil, the second-highest death toll in the world after the United States.

“I remember my family’s lives being at risk during the pandemic… I remember the vaccine denial,” said Carneiro.

Amid drums and fireworks, massive flags read “Get Out Bolsonaro,” while some protesters expressed concern about Flavio Bolsonaro’s plans to grant amnesty to his father, currently serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after his 2022 election loss.

“Dictatorship Never Again,” read one poster.

“I find this rise of the far-right and the rise of Bolsonarism in Brazil very, very sad,” said Emmanuel Araujo, 19, who is preparing to take university entrance exams.

“Most people voting for Bolsonaro aren’t doing so because they believe in his proposals. It’s anti-PT, anti-Lula politics, driven by hatred and resentment toward previous administrations,” he said, referring to Lula’s Workers’ Party.

“Lula might not be my preferred candidate, but amid this barbarism, we have to choose between someone we can keep criticizing and someone who might take away our right to speak,” he said.

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