Bolsonaro Backers Rally in São Paulo as Presidential Race Tightens with Lula

By Gabriel Araujo

SAO PAULO, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Brazil’s opposition took to the streets on Independence Day as right‑wing Senate candidate Flavio Bolsonaro attempted to turn a Supreme Court controversy into an electoral boost ahead of next month’s vote against leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In cold conditions, about 28,500 people gathered on São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue for the conservative rally, according to estimates by researchers from the University of São Paulo’s Monitor do Debate Politico.

Organizers described the demonstration as a protest against Lula’s government and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, set to take place ahead of the first round of voting on October 4.

Justice Moraes rose to prominence after aggressively prosecuting former President Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio’s father, over a 2023 coup plot, securing a conviction in 2025 that made him one of Brazil’s most polarizing figures.

“This Lula‑Moraes consortium will end,” Flavio Bolsonaro told supporters. “Anyone who votes for Lula is voting for Alexandre de Moraes.”

A Quaest poll released on Monday placed Lula and Bolsonaro tied at 41 % each in a potential runoff, scheduled for October 25.

From a sound truck, flanked by fellow conservatives, Flavio Bolsonaro tried to revive the mass street rallies that defined his father’s style, though the turnout fell short of the elder Bolsonaro’s earlier crowds.

A similar rally last year attracted roughly 42,000 participants, while a gathering called by Jair Bolsonaro in early 2024 drew about 185,000 supporters.

Above the demonstrators towered an inflatable doll depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, a long‑time Bolsonaro ally, holding a figurine of imprisoned Lula. Many protesters waved Brazilian flags, while others carried U.S. and Israeli banners.

SUPREME COURT CRISIS

His running mate, Congressman Alfredo Gaspar, echoed the attack, linking Lula directly to Justice Moraes and branding the judge a political partner of the leftist leader.

“There is no Lula without Alexandre, nor Alexandre without Lula. That is why we say: ‘Out Lula, out Moraes,’” Gaspar told the crowd.

The rally unfolded amid an unprecedented showdown at the Supreme Court, after Justice André Mendonça—a Bolsonaro appointee—released a report questioning alleged contacts between Moraes and a banker accused of orchestrating a multibillion‑dollar fraud scheme, prompting calls for an investigation.

Moraes responded by opening an inquiry into Mendonça for alleged abuse of authority.

Bolsonaro has maintained that his father, currently under house arrest and barred from office, is the victim of political persecution orchestrated by Moraes.

“The discontent runs deep with a corrupted system,” said Deisi Moro, a Bolsonaro supporter. “It’s a shame what Bolsonaro endured, and now Flavio is our option,” noting the crowd’s size was impressive despite the chilly weather.

“The event merged protest politics with campaign messaging,” said Robson Nonato de Souza, 56, another Bolsonaro supporter.

Lula attended the traditional Independence Day military parade in Brasilia but did not deliver a speech there. He instead addressed the nation on television the previous evening, stressing national sovereignty.

“Defending Brazil’s independence is defending our sovereignty and our democracy,” Lula said. “We cannot bow our heads before foreign powers that aim to turn Brazil into a colony again.”

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Additional reporting by Eduardo Simoes, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Debora Ely; Editing by Manuela Andreoni and Cynthia Osterman)

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