Rio students march against Flávio Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil runoff

Thousands of students marched through central Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday to protest against the possibility of Flvio Bolsonaro winning Brazil's presidency, after he finished ahead of incumbent and left-leaning Luiz Incio Lula da Silva in the first round of the election.

Neither candidate crossed the 50 per cent mark required to win outright on Sunday, sending the contest to a runoff on October 25. Protesters said they were defending Brazil's democracy and sovereignty as the campaign enters what is expected to be an unpredictable final stretch.

A sea of red-clad demonstrators moved between two historic squares in the city centre, chanting and carrying signs that said Brazil's sovereignty and democracy were under threat. At Cinelandia square, chants of "Ol ol ol ola, Lula Lula" rang out as students called on voters to back Lula in the second round.

"We're fighting for Brazil, not for Lula," said Talita Amaral, a 19-year-old environmental science student at a nearby university. Amaral was wearing Brazil's yellow and green football jersey, often associated with Bolsonaro supporters, and said it was a way of reclaiming the national colours. "We don't have time to be sad, we need to be doing this, occupying the streets, sending messages in WhatsApp groups, trying to convince people," she said.

Bolsonaro goes into the runoff with at least two advantages. He received 2 million more votes than Lula in the first round, and the candidates who finished third, fourth and fifth are all on the right of the political spectrum. Together, they polled 6 million votes.

Bolsonaro is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion over his ties to the failed Banco Master, an issue many protesters referred to on Wednesday. Some also criticised Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, during which 700,000 people were reported to have died, while others held signs reading, "Brazil isn't anyone's backyard" and "I don't vote for someone who sells Brazil."

Many on the left fear that a Flvio Bolsonaro presidency would fully align Brazil with the United States because of the ideological closeness between US President Donald Trump and the Bolsonaro family. Last year, Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian goods and sanctioned a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, citing Jair Bolsonaro's trial, which he called a "witch hunt."

"If Bolsonaro wins, Brazil will become a colony of the United States," said Joo Victor Vieira, 20, a literature student. He said Bolsonaro posed a threat to minorities such as people of colour, women and the LGBTQ+ community, and referred to the homophobic remarks for which Bolsonaro's father was notorious. Vieira said he had been dispirited after Sunday's result but had since regained hope. "This protest shows that social movements are still very much alive," he said. "We will resist."

The protest underlined the urgency among Bolsonaro's opponents as Brazil heads into the October 25 runoff, with students saying they would keep campaigning on the streets and online to stop his rise to the presidency.

With PTI Inputs

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