Election campaigns kick off in Brazil ahead of October presidential vote

Tens of thousands of supporters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva packed into May 1 Stadium this past Sunday in the president’s hometown of São Bernardo do Campo.

Cida Maia, the secretary of Women’s Public Policies in the nearby municipality of Mauá, was there.

“This is living history,” she said. “I’m participating in an historic moment. It’s a great feeling, and we’re going to elect Lula.”

Her husband, Valmir Maia, held back tears as he stood next to her. “It’s emotional,” he said.

Brazilians attended rallies over the weekend to kick off the campaign season ahead of October’s high-stakes presidential election.

Lula’s campaign chose this particular stadium to start the run for his fourth and final term as president — the same place where he got his start as a powerful figure on a national stage.

In 1979, when Lula was a young leader at the ABC metalworkers’ union held an iconic strike and rally at the same stadium. The workers won. It marked the beginning of the end of the country’s military dictatorship. 

Valmir Maia was there then and now.

“We wanted what we got,” he said. “To transform Brazil into a democratic country. That was our struggle. And Lula was the expression of this.”

Inside the stadium on Sunday, President Lula strode onto a long stage wearing a Panama hat and a white shirt. From the bleachers, he seemed to float above the sea of supporters in red, the color of Lula’s Workers’ Party.

Lula’s top campaign promise has always been about battling hunger. From the beginning of his first presidential term in 2003, he called his program Fome Zero — Zero Hunger. Over the years, he’s lifted millions from poverty and increased access to education, health and infrastructure, particularly in impoverished northeastern Brazil.

Lula told the crowd that much work remained. They had to think about the future. He said they had to invest even more in education. That he wanted to continue to develop jobs and industry for Brazil.

Meanwhile, 300 miles to the east, Lula’s challenger Flávio Bolsonaro launched his campaign on Copacabana beach, in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro.

“This election is about which path we want to choose for our Brazil,” Flávio Bolsonaro told his supporters. “The path of prosperity that I will offer to the Brazilian people, or the path of darkness with the current government.”

He emphasized the need to battle crime, insecurity and the cost of living.

Flávio Bolsonaro is a senator and the 45-year-old son of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who led the country from 2018 to 2022.

The older Bolsonaro is now under house arrest. He was jailed last year after being convicted of attempting to carry out a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral loss to Lula.

He tapped his son to lead the charge to return the family to the presidency. 

His supporters say Flávio Bolsonaro can do the job.

On Sunday afternoon, Daniel Martins was one of dozens of Bolsonaro supporters pamphleting the streets of São Paulo in support of him and their local candidates.

“Flávio represents a large sector of society that defends family, traditional and Christian values,” Martins said. “Flávio carries the name of the Bolsonaro family and the legacy of many people who do not feel represented by the current government.”

Lula currently leads the polls. But Flávio Bolsonaro is not far behind.

And he’s betting that his ties to US President Donald Trump will give him a boost at the polls.

Trump is a staunch ally of the Bolsonaro family. Last year, he imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil, partly because of Brazil’s trial against Jair Bolsonaro. He spoke to the press about it that same month.

“They’re treating President Bolsonaro very unfairly,” Trump said. “He’s a good man.”

Flávio Bolsonaro met with Trump at the White House in May. Last month, Trump imposed new 25% tariffs on Brazil. Then, two weeks ago, he revoked the Brazilian ambassador’s US visa after Brazil denied visas to two US State Department officials who planned to travel to Brazil to meet former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula has accused Trump of trying to influence the vote.

Alexander Main is the director of international policy at the Center for Economic Policy and Research in Washington. He said this election is important not just for Brazil, but for the entire region.

“Brazil is the country with the largest economy, the biggest population in Latin America,” Main said. “And it’s also one of the few countries that is still holding out against US pressure to align with the Trump administration’s agenda in the region.”

As for the campaign, Brazilian sociologist Marcelo Kunrath said he expects it to be “very intense and probably with some level of violence.”

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