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Lula and Flávio launch bids
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, officially launched his campaign for a fourth term at the Vila Euclides football stadium in São Bernardo do Campo, vowing that as long as he lived he would not allow the “shameless” right to return to power.
“Addressing a sea of supporters in São Bernardo do Campo”
Lula’s rival, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, launched his campaign at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, telling supporters: “I am going to be Brazil’s next president because I’m going to fight this system.”
The Guardian said Lula’s campaign kickoff in São Bernardo do Campo came as he sought to block the “right” while Bolsonaro’s son began in Rio’s Copacabana, and it framed the contest as a tight race with polls showing a technical tie.
Lula’s launch also tied his bid to security and social programs, with teleSUR describing his speech at the Vila Euclides municipal stadium and his focus on combating gender violence and organized crime while promising to continue social programs.
Security, sovereignty, and crime
Lula told supporters that “It’s easy to kill a crook in a favela. But the guy running the show lives in a penthouse … and we need to stop this,” as he promised to improve security by targeting “the rich organised crime bosses who lived in luxury apartments.”
In Rio, Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign emphasized public security and tough-on-crime measures, and he said he would “fight the system” while positioning himself against Lula’s approach to crime.
teleSUR reported that Lula emphasized pursuing faction leaders rather than “any simple member,” declaring: “It is by taking away their money that we will end organized crime,” and it also quoted him calling for men to treat their partners as “companions” and not as “servants or slaves.”
Xinhua said Lula’s security strategy focused on leaders of organized crime, and it also quoted him arguing that “Investing in education is much cheaper than investing in the penitentiary system,” linking education spending to his broader campaign agenda.
Polls, dates, and what’s at stake
The campaign is set to culminate in a first round on October 4 and, if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, a second round on October 25, with multiple outlets describing the race as a technical tie.
“with 43% of intended votes to his rival’s 40% in a run-off which will take place on 25 October”
The Guardian reported polls showing Lula at 43% of intended votes to Bolsonaro’s 40% ahead of the run-off on 25 October, while La Tercera said the presidential race kicked off with a slim gap and cited polling that gave Lula 43% to Flávio’s 40% in the Quaest survey.
In teleSUR’s account, Lula framed his candidacy as an obstacle to the right’s return to the Planalto Palace and argued for higher investment in public security, education, and health, while Flávio Bolsonaro chose Copacabana as a bastion of Bolsonarism and centered his kickoff on security and attacks on Lula’s government.
The Guardian also said Lula vowed to develop Brazil’s rare-earth deposits, the world’s second largest after China’s, and it reported that in recent months the United States designated Brazil’s two biggest organised crime groups, the Red Command and the PCC, as terrorist organisations—an issue that the article said has kindled fears of US military intervention or interference in Brazil’s presidential election.
