Presidential in Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro in Minas Gerais: 'This is where I was born again'

Audio 01:14

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle at the launch of his campaign in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, this Tuesday August 16, 2022. AFP - MAURO PIMENTEL

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The presidential campaign is officially launched in Brazil.

The elections will take place on October 2 and 30.

Former left-wing president Lula is in the lead with 44% of voting intentions, according to a latest poll published on Monday, followed by current far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (39%).

The latter was in Minais Gerais, this Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

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With our correspondent in Rio de Janeiro,

Sarah Cozzolino

“ 

This is where I was born again.

I thank the hand of God who saved me.

 Jair Bolsonaro appears before the crowd in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, with a bulletproof vest under his shirt.

A symbolic place for the official launch of the current president's campaign, because it was there that, four years earlier, he had been stabbed during a walkabout.

To oppose his main opponent, former President Lula, Bolsonaro is campaigning in the name of the fight of good against evil.

- Juiz de Fora / Minas Gerais (16/08/2022)


- Deus, Pátria, Família e Liberdade!!!

pic.twitter.com/DDpAF1s0Ry

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) August 16, 2022

His wife, Michelle, is his main asset in winning over the evangelical and feminine electorate.

This Tuesday, she intervened in the middle of the president's speech to have the crowd recite an Our Father.

If Lula is still leading the polls, the gap with Jair Bolsonaro has narrowed in recent weeks, especially since the establishment of financial aid for the most disadvantaged.

The campaign is expected to become more radical in the coming weeks.

The date of September 7 could generate violence, according to experts.

The president is betting everything on the day of the bicentenary of Brazilian independence.

He plans to organize large rallies across the country.

►Also listen: In Brazil, "we cannot exclude that there are acts of contestation of the ballot"

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  • Brazil

  • Jair Bolsonaro

  • Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva