The sound comes from a loudspeaker at the door of a shopping center in Paulista, the music playing in circle is in support of the current president of Brazil. “Vote, vote and confirm, 22 is Bolsonaro”, is the very letter of gum that gets into your head and takes time to come out. They don’t number ten, but they are easily identifiable, not only because of their green and yellow clothing, but also because they brought stickers to hand out.
minutes before, the TSF he had called the headquarters of the Liberal Party in São Paulo to find out if there were any planned campaign actions and distribution of propaganda in the city, and the secretary’s response was clear: “I am not aware of any.” And it was true because this group was informally organized.
“We decided to get together in support of Bolsonaro, better than staying at home on the social network,” says the organizer of this small gathering of a dozen people. Josi Guimarães, wearing a cap on his head and a T-shirt with the Brazilian flag, would like to see more of the right – or “patriots”, as he calls them – in the street.
For the rest, there is even an explanation as to why Avenida Paulista seems to be more favorable to the candidate Lula. “We always think that it is from the left, but the fact is that the right never arrives here, but that is changing. Many young people come here and support Lula, but they are young people who do not work and depend on their father… Lula, but those who work and need the economy are Bolsonaro and that picture is changing here on Paulista Avenue”, he says with a confident air.
In another answer, it extends the argument to everyone. “We don’t have time to go around, wasting time here and wasting time, we work. That’s why Paulista seems more to the left, there are many people who don’t work and come here.”
In fact, on a walk down the busiest avenue in the city, one can see that those who want to publicly express their support will vote for Lula. Whether because the stickers are already part of the dress code, either because they wear shirts or wear accessories that refer to the candidate on the left. The admitted Bolsonaristas are few, only in cars that display Brazilian flags and that were appropriated by the movement in support of the current president. Curiously, in this group there was a lady with the flag… of Israel.
The call to the streets
A few hundred meters further on, at the entrance to the São Paulo Museum of Art, a small group was also doing the same thing as the Bolsonaristas, but for Lula’s campaign. It was a movement of people linked to the University of São Paulo and that sought to convert votes.
In fact, they seemed to preach above all to people already converted, but Alexandre Pariol Filho makes it clear that it is important to be in the streets and get votes, not only for Lula, but also for Fernando Haddad, who is also running for election. second round for the position of governor of the state.
“He is a teacher who is going to take care of education, who is going to take care of the best for the people of São Paulo. We have to grow, call everyone to the streets… It is in the streets that we will be governors of the state and lead Lula to the presidency,” says this worker from the University of São Paulo who took on the task of distributing stickers with the number 13, the number of the electronic vote in Lula da Silva.
To the side, Enrico Barbosa de Moura joins in noticing the presence of the radio and, almost without asking permission, sings a rehearsed speech in defense of the vote for Lula. He says that “in these last hours [de campanha]it is important to keep a warm heart and a cool head” with the aim of achieving “a great victory on Sunday in defense of democracy”.
And he underlines what Alexandre had already said: “Let’s go out and talk to people, we’ve always done it and we’re going to do it again. It’s talking to people and convincing them that we’re going to have a great victory in 2022 because it’s the most important since the redemocratization of Brazil.” And he continues talking to whoever passes by making an L with his hands.
“I’m gay and a Bolsonaro”
Also, when he saw the TSF microphone, he approached, but, in this case, with the Bolsonaro supporters was Bruno Vieira. And he enters decisively: “Let it be said, I am gay and a Bolsonaro to show that Bolsonaro has nothing against gays. This is a lie, it is the PT that pits gays against heterosexuals, blacks against whites… Four years of Bolsonaro and I didn’t feel anything bad, they said he was going to kill gays, quite the opposite: the number of gays tripled,” he says before bursting out laughing.
This young man goes against the vast majority of LGBTQIA+ people in Brazil: he says that he never felt his rights were violated, not even in the homophobic and transphobic comments made by the current president. And even he plays down Bolsonaro’s statements, remembering that we have all said the wrong things in the past.
“I, in the past, have said things that I regret, Bolsonaro, in the past, has said things that he regrets, but what matters is not what he says, it is his action. What did he do? children in schools, it is not normal for you to cheer up. Do you want to be gay? Okay, whatever, but naturally. But inside the schools they teach to make two men do what they do, that is completely wrong, ”he concludes before singing. again for anyone who wants to hear that “22 is Bolsonaro”.
Source: TSF
