Lula’s rebuke came on the first official day of campaigning ahead of Brazil’s October elections, when 156.5 million citizens will choose the next leader of a bitterly divided nation. Speaking in the factories of Sao Paulo, where he began his spectacular political rise in the late 1960s, Lula urged voters to punish incumbent Bolsonaro for his negative, lie-filled response to a Covid outbreak that has killed more than 680,000 Brazilians . “If there is anyone possessed by the devil, it is Bolsonaro,” shouted the former union leader, who was president from 2003 to 2010, in his characteristic husky voice. Lula’s remarks were seen in part as an effort to counter Bolsonaro’s campaign to demonize the veteran leftist and convince millions of evangelical voters that his return to power would threaten their faith. Bolsonaro, a far-right radical who calls the election a battle between God-fearing “good” and left-wing “evil”, began his re-election campaign by warning voters not to support “those who persecute and call for the closing of churches”. Lula dismissed those hints as he addressed supporters outside the car factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo. “He’s trying to manipulate the good faith of evangelical men and women,” said the 76-year-old politician, who has taken to wearing a bulletproof vest for fear of being attacked by a right-wing extremist. A poll released on Monday showed Lula continuing to enjoy a comfortable 12-point lead over Bolsonaro, who won a landslide victory in 2018 but angered many voters with his disastrous handling of the coronavirus, which he called “a bit cold”. Some polls suggest that Lula could even claim a victory in the first round by winning more than 50% of the vote. But observers suspect Bolsonaro will gain some ground thanks to politically charged welfare payments offered to more than 20 million families. “I think the numbers will probably tighten as we get closer to the vote … which still puts Lula ahead, but not by a huge margin,” said Thomas Shannon, the US ambassador to Brazil under Barack Obama.
