São Paulo, May 1 (EFE). – May Day demonstrations prevailed in a marked political climate this Sunday in Brazil, drawing huge actions across the country between the left, led by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and the right headed by President Jair Bolsonaro.
Just five months before the presidential election, the South American giant divided its feelings between the former union leader, who ruled the country between 2003 and 2010 and who appears as the top candidate in electoral polls with 43% of voting intent, and the far-right leader, who is aspiring, With 26% of support, he was re-elected for another four-year term.
The protests were peaceful and started early in most parts of the country especially in cities such as Fortaleza, Recife, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro, where Lula supporters gathered in Parque do Flamingo, near the city center. From Copacabana beach, their usual place.
In Brasilia, protests also began in the morning and included, though for a few minutes, the presence of Bolsonaro, who appeared unexpectedly at noon, in the Alameda de las Banderas, in front of the National Congress.
The Brazilian president, whose presence in the demonstrations was in doubt, as his closest aides advised him to avoid them so that his presence would not be interpreted as political propaganda, interacted with some of his supporters but did not speak to the public.
Hours later, Bolsonaro nearly accompanied his followers through demonstrations in São Paulo, the country’s largest city and where the strongest and most mobilized protests were concentrated across Brazil.
RED vs. “GREEN-YELLOW”
While the “red” day that gathered among workers and Lula’s supporters practically lasted all day in the capital São Paulo, the “yellow-green” activity, which brought together the followers of the far-right leader, began in the evening.
Charles Muller Square, in front of the Pacaembu stadium, has welcomed many unions in the capital, São Paulo, led by the Central Confederation of Workers (CUT), who have criticized the increase in hunger and inequality the country has experienced since Bolsonaro became president and demanded Lula’s return to power.
Lula was laconic in his speech, and although he reiterated on several occasions that he was not yet a presidential candidate, the tone was political, highlighting the achievements of his administration and criticizing those of Bolsonaro.
“Someone better” than the president of the republic, Jair Bolsonaro, said, “will win the presidential election” this year.
The former president noted that during the period of his government, the country’s GDP grew by about 4.1% every year, 22 million jobs were created, and inflation at that time did not exceed 4.5% per year, almost three times less than what Brazil currently has (11.30%).
“We will return to a civilized country, and the constitution will be respected,” he stressed.
“We will return to a society where love overcomes hate and where culture overcomes ignorance,” he concluded.
Lola’s speech, which had been eagerly awaited since the beginning of the afternoon, took several hours to wait for the supporters because the call, although it collected hundreds of them, did not attract the crowds that usually accompany him.
The former union leader spoke roughly an hour after Bolsonaro sent a short message to his followers (around 3:15 p.m. local time, 6:15 p.m. GMT), through a giant screen located on Avenida Paulista.
“I will go wherever I am. I will always be next to the Brazilian people. I thank the Creator for my life and I thank many of you for believing in him and giving me this mission to guide the destiny of Brazil. Good always defeats evil,” she said.
With a participation similar to Lula’s, hundreds of Bolsonaristas were only three kilometers from the gathering place of the progressive leader’s followers, and despite their proximity, demonstrations in São Paulo – and throughout the country – were peaceful and no violent action was recorded.
Bolsonaro’s followers, draped in the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag, praised the far-right leader’s administration and defended the pardon that the president granted last week to his deputy after the Supreme Court of Justice sentenced him to eight years in prison. Justice, for threatening a number of investigative judges and inciting anti-democratic actions.
On Paulista Avenue, the most important in the city, which is usually the focus of labor unions on this day, supporters of the Brazilian president, armed with posters and Brazilian flags, sharply criticized the Supreme Court of Justice. . , whose leader accused her of obstructing his re-election.
Likewise, mobs lobbied against Lula and even called for military intervention, as was also seen in Rio and Brasilia. EFE.
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