There is one week left until the citizens of Brazil come out to vote for two presidential candidates they already know: Jair Bolsonarothe current president who represents the right and seeks re-election, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvaleader of the Workers’ Party that governed that country between 2003 and 2010. As October 2 arrives, Bolsonaro is trying to convince voters by comparison with whom the right-wing leader has called the friends of the thief Lula; among them, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.
The Brazilian president made several comments about it at a crowded campaign event in the city of Divinópolis, in Minas Gerais state. From there, he mentioned that the speech given by Petro last Tuesday before the UN General Assembly was, in a nutshell, an apology for cocaine.
“The president of Colombia went to the UN to defend the release of cocaineand do not forget that this new president of Colombia he is an old friend of that thief Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva”, affirmed Bolsonaro.
In addition to Petro, Bolsonaro also referred to Daniel Ortega, the leader of the Nicaraguan regime. In fact, he reminded the Divinópolis audience that the religious in that Central American country are being persecuted. He also mentioned that, during his own intervention before the UN, he offered Brazil as a refuge for those fleeing from “That other friend of the thief Lula”. Bolsonaro also asked them to think about what happens in those countries before voting.
“Look at what just happened with the CNN signal in Nicaragua. It was cut by Lula’s friend.”which “says that social networks must be regulated,” mentioned the current president.
Of course, the right-wing politician also spoke of the violence that is lived on behalf of the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. About that country he assured that the “left friend of Lula” led him to failure.
Likewise, Bolsonaro mentioned that “every morning I wake up, kneel down, pray an Our Father and ask our God that our Brazilian people never feel the pain of communism.” He insisted on his defense of the Christian valuesreiterated his preaching against abortion and drugs and assured that the communists they are insensitive “to the suffering of mothers who have their children lost in the world of drug addiction.”
It should be noted that Bolsonaro’s criticism of countries with leftist leaders has been repeated during the campaign. For example, last August he stated that “Colombia, like Chile, was a correct country in its rights. Now he has Petro, who is going to end the anti-drug policy and is going to release the drug. Only those who have already seen a family suffering from this issue know what it means”. Likewise, just after Petro’s election, Bolsonaro said that “Colombia has just elected a president of the M-19, similar to Dilma Rousseff.”
One week before the elections, Bolsonaro is second in the Brazilians’ intention to vote: he would have support close to 32%, compared to the minimum of 45% that Lula would obtain. However, there are those who suggest that the PT leader could exceed the 50% of votes needed to win the presidency in the first round.
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