Helpful vote for Lula
Two days after the most polarized dispute in the history of the largest economy in Latin America and Argentina’s main trading partner, Lula da Silva maintains a 14-point lead over Bolsonaro and could win in the first round if the valid votes (no nulls or blanks), according to the latest survey of Datafolha.
For this reason, he has gone out in the final stretch to hunt for the useful vote center-left supporters Cyrus Gomes (6%) and the centrist Simone Tebbet (5%) who want to avoid a second round on October 30.
Celebrities take sides
In this campaign, Lula da Silva capitalized on the support of celebrities such as musicians Caetano Veloso Y Anittaand surrounded himself with unexpected figures, such as the former judge of the Supreme Federal Court Joaquim Barbosawho led the trial of the vote-buying scandal in Congress that marked the first government of the Workers’ Party (PT).
Bolsonaro, on the other hand, obtained on Thursday the explicit support of the star of the Brazilian soccer team, Neymar.
Traditional values vs. the young and female votes
Jair Bolsonaro, a 67-year-old former Army captain and deputy, focused his strategy on exalting weapons, moral values (“God, country, family”) and attacks your opponent. In Thursday’s debate, he once again called Lula a “thief,” referring to the conviction for corruption that, before being annulled by the Supreme Court, kept him in prison for a year and a half and kept him out of the 2018 election.
Bolsonaro is backed by influential sectors such as the evangelical, business and agribusiness.
But he faces strong resistance between the female, young and poorest electorateafter a turbulent management of the pandemic that left 686,000 dead, an increase in poverty and hunger, record levels of deforestation in the Amazon, suspicions of irregularities surrounding his family and allies, and attacks against judicial institutions and the press.
Polarization at record levels
The fierce fight between Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro reflects a highly polarized electorate in Brazilwith facts of political violence that already left three dead.
“There was always political polarization in Brazil, but today you see a purely ideological confrontation in which the adversary becomes an enemy”, explains the political scientist Andre Cesarfrom the consulting firm Hold.
The ghost of a coup
President Jair Bolsonaro again this week discredited the polls and questioned without evidence the reliability of electronic ballot boxesa discourse widely taken up by the currents of misinformation that circulated massively on social networks.
His attitude has raised fears that he will not concede a possible defeat and incidents similar to those in the United States in 2021 will occur, when supporters of the former president donald trump they invaded the Capitol.
While not completely ruling out riots, the political scientist Jairus Nicolauof the Getulio Vargas Foundation, believes that Bolsonaro does not have the “support of the military, public opinion or the political world” to entrench themselves in power if they lose.
Others, on the other hand, see episodes of violence as “likely” if Bolsonaro does not accept defeat, as michael shifterpolitical analyst for the think tank Inter American Dialogue, who describes the ultra-conservative as the “most anti-democratic president since the military regime” in Brazil (1964-1985).
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
