Only three weeks are left for the holding of the historic Presidential elections in Brazil on October 2 this year but the right wing President Jair Bolsonaro who is contesting the elections again challenging the opinion poll favourite Workers Party candidate former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, popularly known as Lula, is already telling his supporters that the October 2 elections will getting to be rigged and he is not giving up power if he loses.
The Brazilian president is a big admirer of Trump. He supported what Trump did on January 6, 2021in Capitol Hill to undo the 2020 elections verdict by the American people. Even now, Trump is telling that the 2020 verdict was stolen by the Democrats. What Trump said after the elections results were out, Bolsonaro is repeating the same as the campaign in polarized Brazil is heating up leading to the D Day.
For months since April this year, the right wing presidential candidate has been talking of his expected loss in the ‘rigged elections’ and talking of how the Brazilian people will not let the left takeover this country without a fight. He has been regularly criticizing the integrity of Brazil’s voting system and calling his supporters to be prepared for actions if he loses. This is nothing but a call for rebellion by his right wing supporters against the Brazilian Election Commission and the Constitution
Bolsonaro is continuing with all these propaganda despite the independent observers and even the United States Government agencies stating that Brazilian voting system is sound and the Election Commission is doing work in an impartial manner. Left wing supporters of Lula believe that the President is virtually seeking the help of the military in the event of his defeat in the presidential polls. All these moves of the Brazilian president have created a sort of fear psychosis among the Brazilian citizens. They are expecting bloody clashes during the polling day and after the results.
The far-right leader, who rode into office in 2019 on a wave of populist anger after Lula was jailed and his successor was impeached as part of a corruption investigation, has said he views just three possibilities for his future: “prison, being killed or victory.”If needed, Bolsonaro said, he and his supporters would go to war. Bolsonaro is a former army officer and hefavours military dictatorships. So the political observers in Brazil are worried at the future of Brazil after the elections.
Bolsonaro’s decision to hold a parallel campaign event on September 7on the occasion of 200th Independence Day of Brazil at Copacabana beach blurred the lines between government and politics, leaving the strong impression that the military pageantry — paratroopers gliding onto the beach, cannon fire from a nearby fort and flyovers set to the “Top Gun” soundtrack — were all in support of Bolsonaro. Indeed, some people participating in the events wore Bolsonaro campaign gear.
Lula’s Workers’ Party filed a complaint with the Supreme Court on Wednesday saying Bolsonaro should be charged for abuse of power for holding a “campaign mega-rally” at an event in which he was supposed to participate strictly as president.
The incumbent President’s popularity has dipped substantially following the Senate committee approving a 1,300-page report calling for President Jair Bolsonaro’s indictment for nine crimes relating to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic — including crimes against humanity — but it is unlikely he will face formal charges. But the allegations have isolated him from many other conservative groups who are committed against the leftwing policies of the Workers Party leader and the left coalition candidate Lula.
Bolsonaro had gained ground in April this year after former justice minister Sergio Moro dropped out, but Lula saw a bump after Joao Doria, the former governor of Sao Paulo state, withdrew last week. His supporters are likely to vote for the left candidate in the presidential elections. These voters are also upset that the surging food and fuel prices are continuing to rise and President Bolsonaro is showing no signs to deal with the crisis situation.
The opinion poll showed that the Brazilian election was more polarised than ever, with centrist alternatives to Lula and Bolsonaro garnering just 13 per cent of voter support, down from 17 per cent in April and 24 per cent in March. The rejection rates for both Lula and Bolsonaro remain virtually unchanged, with 43 per cent of voters saying they would never vote for the leftist Workers Party leader and 59 per cent saying they would never vote for the far-right incumbent.
Bolsonaro, a pro-gun nationalist, has faced growing public discontent about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and push to encourage mining in the Amazon, while high inflation and soaring fuel prices are continuing unchecked. Earlier in May, a group of 80 jurists and legal researchers appealed to the United Nations Special Rapporteur to visit Brazil and report on the government’s attacks on the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court that oversees elections.
Lula has sought to widen his political coalition ahead of the October polls, naming centrist Geraldo Alckmin as his running mate. This is aimed to draw the centrists around him in the first round of the presidential elections itself. The centrists are still divided as many of them think that Lula, if elected president, will resort to curbs on democratic rights on the lines of Venezuela president Maduro. But in his campaign, Lula and the left coalition members including the Brazilian Communist Party are rebutting by saying that the new Lula presidency will protect all democratic rights and raise the standard of living of the common people. (IPA Service)
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