By Fernando Cardoso, Sebastian Rocandio and Lais Morais
SAO PAULO, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro wrapped up their campaigns on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s presidential runoff vote, mobilizing supporters and making a final push for undecided voters.
The two candidates have remained neck and neck in polls following a stronger-than-expected performance by the right-wing senator in the first round. On Saturday, a CNT/MDA poll showed the senator with a 1.3-point lead.
Lula, who is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term, kicked off his last day of campaigning with a march along Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Copacabana beach, where thousands of supporters joined the leftist incumbent under a blazing sun.
“We’re going to win the election for one simple reason: it’s true that the people want change, (but) they want to move forward. They don’t want to go backward,” Lula told journalists before the rally.
Later, the president led another march in Sao Paulo, passing along Paulista Avenue, a traditional venue for political demonstrations in Brazil’s largest city.
“It’s so exciting to see everyone here. This is the kind of energy we want for Brazil. Brazil is ours,” said Gisele Passos, a 61-year-old businesswoman at the Sao Paulo rally.
For many Lula supporters, the rallies carried a bittersweet undertone. The 80-year-old president and former union leader is widely expected to be making his final bid for office, lending the campaign’s closing events the feel of a farewell tour.
“He’s one of a kind. He has had an incredible, remarkable, and hard-fought journey. We’re very proud of that,” said Olga Leal, a 62-year-old retiree in Sao Paulo.
BOLSONARO RALLIES IN BATTLEGROUND STATE
Bolsonaro, meanwhile, joined a motorcycle caravan in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, a key battleground state. No candidate has won the presidency without carrying Minas Gerais since the country’s return to democracy in the 1980s.
The senator led Lula by around 5 percentage points in the state in the first round.
“The time is almost here. There are only a few hours left before we shape the future of our nation for the next 30 or 40 years,” said the lawmaker, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a social media video.
He later took part in a campaign march in his home state of Rio de Janeiro, which he has represented in the Senate since 2019.
The younger Bolsonaro was first backed by his father to run for the presidency last December. The former president was sentenced to over 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula.
On Friday, Lula and Bolsonaro met for a final debate on TV Globo, the country’s main free-to-air television channel, where they sparred over the cost of living and traded personal attacks.
(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso, Sebastian Rocandio and Lais Morais in Sao Paulo; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Alistair Bell)
