Lula convinced that the people will prevent “a militiaman” in the presidency

O Brazilian President and candidate for re-election, Lula da Silva, said today, after voting, to be convinced that Brazilians will prevent a “milician” from reaching the Presidency in an attack on his opponent Flavio Bolsonaro.

The Brazilian President, Lula da Silva, 80 years old, voted today around 10:00 ( Brasília time) in São Bernardo do Campo, his political cradle, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, in the second round of suffrage that can lead him to re-election and the fourth term.

With a white shirt and a sticker with number 13 on his chest, Lula opened a Brazilian flag next to the voting booth and posed for the photographers, smiling, next to the first lady, Janja da Silva, the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and his faithful former ministers Fernando Haddad, Simone Tebet and Marina Silva.

“ If you find someone rich with a political salary, he is a thief,” he said at the vote, to journalists, in a long speech, adding that he never imagined having to fight “an election with an unqualified person, morally, ethically, personally” who “does not make the slightest effort to tell a truth.”

“The Brazilian people will never allow a militiaman to occupy the Palácio do Planalto”, stressed.

Lula also accused Flávio of campaigning with the Brazilian flag, but wanting to rule with the American, opposing that his commitment is with Brazil.

“ On the side they campaign with this, but want to rule with the American flag ", said, referring to the Brazilian flag.

He also presented the vote as a choice between different projects for the country: “if we want a Brazil that distributes books for children”, or a country that sells weapons.

Lula thanked the popular mobilization during the second round, which he classified as a phenomenon “from the sociological point of view, almost inexplicable”, saying he never saw anything similar in 50 years of political life.

“The people went out to defend their achievements,” he said, describing the Brazilians who mobilized for their candidacy as “an army of democracy”.

Earlier, around 8:00 a.m. (11:00 a.m. in Lisbon), face-to-face candidate Flávio Bolsonaro voted in Rio de Janeiro and said that “the time for real change has come” and called for voters to leave the house to vote.

“The time for real change has come. That's the way it was on the first lap, Monday. Brazil can't stand four more years the way it is. Everyone's life has worsened, there's no reason to keep insisting on the mistake ", said, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

All the voting assemblies in the country opened at 08:00 in Brasilia (11:00 in Lisbon) and end at 17:00 (20:00 in Lisbon), keeping the unified hours adopted in 2022, despite the different Brazilian time zones.

More than 158.7 million voters will be able to vote until 17:00 in Brasilia (20:00 in Lisbon) in about 564,000 electronic ballot boxes spread across 5,571 cities in the country, as well as 186 cities abroad, such as Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

In the first round, Flávio Bolsonaro obtained 47.03% of the valid votes, against 45.16% of Lula da Silva, an advantage of 2.224,965 votes, and since the introduction of the system of two laps in Brazilian presidential, in 1989, no candidate who finished the first vote in second place managed to win the election.

The two are technically tied in the polls, portrait of a country divided in half.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from the Workers' Party, left, and former trade unionist, seeks reelection at the age of 80 and his fourth term, while Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, from the Liberal Party and supported by the right, tries to return power to the Bolosnarist camp, four years after the father's defeat against the former worker who now tries to defeat.