Bolsonaro, Lula battle for Brazil runoff endorsements

Bolsonaro, Lula battle for Brazil runoff endorsements

Brazilian President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro (L) listens to questions next to his son Flavio during a press conference at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on October 4, 2022
Brazilian President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro (L) listens to questions next to his son Flavio during a press conference at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on October 4, 2022. Photo: EVARISTO SA / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!

Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva both got key endorsements Tuesday as they geared up for their battle for Brazil's presidential runoff on October 30.

The two rivals are aggressively chasing endorsements for their polarizing final bout, after finishing with a closer-than-expected five-point difference in Sunday's first-round election: 48 percent for ex-president Lula to 43 percent for Bolsonaro.

Both are racing to win over Brazilians who voted for the third- and fourth-place finishers, center-right candidate Simone Tebet (four percent) and center-left candidate Ciro Gomes (three percent).

They will also be campaigning hard to woo those who cast blank or spoiled ballots (three percent and two percent, respectively) or simply didn't vote -- 21 percent of the South American giant's 156 million voters.

Bolsonaro racked up several major endorsements, including from influential corruption buster Sergio Moro, his one-time justice minister, who had quit his administration in protest in 2020.

Read also

Lula must fight for center to win Brazil runoff: analysts

Lula (2003-2010) meanwhile got an important, if grudging, nod from Gomes.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

The center-left firebrand served as a minister in Lula's first administration, but later fell out with him and emerged as one of his fiercest critics.

'Lula not an option'

Fray Davi gives his blessing next to (L to R) Fray Gabriel, Brazilian former President (2003-2010) and candidate for the leftist Workers Party (PT) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Fray Paulo during a meeting to commemorate St. Francis of Assisi day, at the campaign headquarters in Sao Paulo, on October 4, 2022.
Fray Davi gives his blessing next to (L to R) Fray Gabriel, Brazilian former President (2003-2010) and candidate for the leftist Workers Party (PT) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Fray Paulo during a meeting to commemorate St. Francis of Assisi day, at the campaign headquarters in Sao Paulo, on October 4, 2022.. Photo: NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP
Source: AFP

"Lula is not an option," Moro, the ex-judge who led the massive "Car Wash" graft investigation, wrote on Twitter.

"His government was stained by the corruption of democracy," he said, declaring his backing for Bolsonaro.

Moro is famous as the judge who jailed Lula, the biggest name felled in "Car Wash," an investigation that uncovered a sprawling web of corruption that stole billions from state-run oil company Petrobras.

He resigned his judgeship to become Bolsonaro's justice minister in 2019, but quit the following year, accusing the president of interfering in police investigations that targeted his inner circle.

Read also

Election showed Brazil's far-right was sold short: analysts

The resignation was hugely damaging for Bolsonaro, who had run on an anti-corruption platform.

But the president said all that was now "water under the bridge."

"From here on, it's a new relationship," he said. "There are no scores to settle."

Brazil's Supreme Court annulled Lula's controversial corruption convictions last year, ruling Moro was biased in the case.

Moro tried to make a presidential run himself this year, but failed to garner enough support and opted instead for the Senate, winning a seat for the southern state of Parana.

Bolsonaro also got endorsements from the governors of Brazil's second- and third-biggest states, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro -- newly re-elected Romeu Zema and Claudio Castro, respectively.

He also scored one from outgoing Governor Rodrigo Garcia of Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous and wealthiest state, who lost his own re-election bid.

'The only exit'

Lula's endorsement from Gomes's Democratic Labor Party (PDT) came despite a long history of animosity between the two men.

Read also

Brazil heads for runoff vote with Bolsonaro buoyant

Gomes grudgingly went along with party leadership, saying in a video he "supported" the endorsement as "the only exit, under the circumstances."

Former presidential candidate Ciro Gomes of the Democratic Labour Party, who was eliminated in the first round of voting, has grudgingly endorsed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for president
Former presidential candidate Ciro Gomes of the Democratic Labour Party, who was eliminated in the first round of voting, has grudgingly endorsed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for president. Photo: Stephan Eilert / AFP
Source: AFP

Lula also looks likely to get the backing of third-place candidate Tebet, a center-right senator and anti-abortion Catholic who could be key to luring socially conservative women voters.

She has hinted she is ready to back Lula. But it will be another matter winning over her party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), which has a strong pro-Bolsonaro wing.

"Make your decision soon. Mine is already made," Tebet has told the divided party's leadership.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.