Brazil: Lula looks for votes in the favelas while Bolsonaro goes to the Catholics

The candidates who will dispute the presidential ballot in Brazil took advantage of the national holiday this Wednesday to defend their flags, and while the progressive Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited a favela, the head of state Jair Bolsonaro went to the largest Catholic sanctuary in the country.

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With just over two weeks to go before the ballot, the candidates seek to add votes for the second round of elections that will take place on October 30.

Lulawho won the first round, wants to increase support in the state of Rio de Janeiroa strategic region to reach the Presidency and where the extreme right-wing leader, who aspires to re-election, is in the lead.

Bolsonaromeanwhile, visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida, the largest Catholic shrine in Brazil, to mingle with the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who came to the site to pay homage to the patron saint in her day.

In the first round of the elections, on October 2, Lula was the most voted candidate with 48.4% of the total, while Bolsonaro received 43.2% of the votes.

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hand in hand with the people

The progressive leader took up his banner against hunger in the ‘Complexo do Alemao’, a depressed and dangerous conglomerate of favelas in the north of Rio.

The former president, who governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, promised to end the misery that exists in the favelas and assured that he will prove “to the elite that governs the country that once again a metallurgist is going to fix” Brazil.

“The people will eat three times a day again, they will have a formal job again”emphasized the former trade unionist before a crowd of supporters who accompanied him during a walk in the favela.

During his visit, Lula also met with leaders of other favelas in Rio, to whom he promised to promote public policies that improve the quality of life in these communities, if he becomes president.

Former Brazilian president (2003-2010) and presidential candidate for the leftist Workers’ Party (PT), Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, greets supporters during a campaign rally in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, on October 11, 2022, ahead of the second round of the presidential election. (Photo by Carl DE SOUZA / AFP) (CARL DE SOUZA /)

“God above all”

Bolsonaro he was received between whistles and applause during his visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida.

The presence of the far-right leader in the largest sanctuary in Brazil has been considered by his opponents as opportunistic, in the midst of the campaign that will define the course of the country.

The far-right leader arrived at the basilica, located in the city of Aparecida, in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, after attending the inauguration of an evangelical church in the state of Minas Gerais.

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The current Brazilian president, who has built his political flag under the motto “Brazil above everything, God above all”has always resorted to religion and conservative ideals to get votes in his political career.

Although he has strong support among evangelicals, who make up about 30% of the electorate, Bolsonaro wants to add votes among Catholics by proclaiming the Christian and conservative values ​​that he speaks with the evangelicals.

According to the polls, while the far-right leader has the support of 63% of evangelicals, Lula has the support of 60% of Catholics.

Brazilian President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro is greeted by supporters as he arrives for a mass at the Basilica Cathedral of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida on Brazil’s patron saint’s day, in Aparecida, Sao Paulo state, in October. January 12, 2022. (Photo by Caio GUATELLI / AFP) (CAIO GUATELLI /)

exploitation of faith

The use of religion as a weapon in the middle of the electoral campaign was condemned “vehemently” the day before by the Brazilian Episcopate that lamented the “intensification of the exploitation of faith as a way to win votes in the second round”.

The bishops’ message, however, was ignored by the candidates and even by the Archbishop of Aparecida himself, Orlando Brandes.

The prelate urged Brazilians to “exercise” the right to vote and, without mentioning any of the candidates, said that “the bread is missing” and that “That is what Brazil needs today”along with peace and brotherhood, in a clear allusion to the flags proclaimed by the progressive leader.

On the day that the Brazilian patron saint is commemorated, Lula’s campaign also released a letter signed by the former president in which he assures that all religions will be respected if he comes to power.

“Religion is a sacred and fundamental right that must be respected by all of us,” Lula points out in the letter published by the news portal G1.

”As a Catholic that I am, on this very special day for Brazil, I want to ask, through Our Lady of Aparecida, that God bless us, so that we can build a democratic, just, independent and sovereign nation, where everyone “has life and life in abundance”he concluded.

Source: Elcomercio