Brazil election campaign opens with Lula vs Flavio Bolsonaro

Brazil's presidential election campaign opens Sunday with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seeking a fourth and final term against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Voters go to the polls on October 4 in a polarized race. Around a dozen candidates are running, but those trailing Lula and Bolsonaro are polling in the single digits.

A Quaest poll released Friday showed Lula with 43 percent of votes and Flavio Bolsonaro with 40 percent in an expected runoff. Both frontrunners have rejection rates above 50 percent, making independent and disengaged voters a central target for the campaign.

Lula, 80, is due to launch his campaign with a rally in Sao Bernardo do Campo in Sao Paulo state, where his political career began as a metalworker and unionist. He has made Brazilian sovereignty in the face of US tariffs and pressure from US President Donald Trump a campaign focus, and has vowed to increase defense spending and prioritize the fight against organized crime.

Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, entered the race after his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was jailed for attempting a coup against Lula after losing the 2022 election. The senator has presented himself as a more moderate version of his father while promising a tough line on crime and fiscal responsibility.

Political science professor Mayra Goulart told AFP that Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro must reach disengaged voters who are likely to abstain. Jairo Nicolau, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, said women are a key demographic; they make up 53 percent of Brazil's 158 million registered voters.