Color, joy and chants for or against Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, candidates for the presidency of Brazil, marked the atmosphere experienced this Sunday in the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP), where the voting takes place.
Turnout, which had been high after the polls opened, fell over lunch, but supporters of the two candidates remained at the entrance to the IPP, separated by the road, chanting some “provocations”, almost always in the form of chants.
“Lula is a thief, he stole my heart,” shouted Lula’s supporters, to which Bolsonaro’s supporters replied “Lula is a thief, his place is in prison”.
With this environment it was difficult to perceive “any hostility” that whoever concentrated there claimed to feel.
For Lusa, Natalia Machado believed that the presence of so many voters at the IPP reflected the bipolarization experienced in these elections, albeit “in a democratic environment and still without any incident” between the two groups.
This voter defended that every citizen should “fight for freedom, democracy and an end to violence”.
On the issue of violence that the candidate – and the current president of Brazil – Bolsonaro says has declined in his tenure, Natalia Machado replied: “We all know that Bolsonaro is the king of ‘fake news’ and that his truth is different from the rest… in the world, just look at what’s happening with, for example, violence against women”.
“Every time I go to Brazil, I feel this issue of violence in my skin,” he added.
Fabiana Amigo, a Bolsonaro supporter, said she wanted “freedom to fight corruption. Freedom, God, homeland and love.”
“The reality in Brazil is very different from what is happening here. Enough of this thief Lula,” he added.
In addition to the long, but organized and fast-moving queue, Vitória Erthal, who has been in Portugal for four years, said she had already voted and that “God willing, fascism will be defeated”.
With a giant photo of Lula, drag queen Mango Green congratulated herself on the “incredible reception” upon her arrival and told Lusa, after a live she made for her Instagram, that she was from Braga on the “comboião da Democracy along with fifty Lula supporters.
He came to Portugal three years ago to do a PhD in biomedical sciences, which he did not complete due to the pandemic, and he is currently working in another field.
“I live happily in Portugal and I have no intention of returning to my country,” he added.
Next door to the IPP, a van sold shirts, pins and stickers in support of Lula da Silva.
All the material “sold out by the end of the morning,” Northeast Linda Moreira told Lusa, citing the fact that they’ve already asked for a “stock” replacement to respond “on the waiting list.”
“The northeast is still going to save Brazil, you’ll see,” he said.
Yan Pereira also said he believed in Lula da Silva’s victory. “I think Bolsonaro does not value education, does not look at health and is against science. For the good of my country I hope and believe that Lula wins”.
In the vicinity of the IPP building where you vote in Porto until 5 pm, the presence of dozens of PSP agents was visible.
Speaking to Lusa, one of the officers said the environment was “normal and peaceful” and that the presence of staff was primarily intended to facilitate road traffic.
In the first round, candidate Lula da Silva won in Porto, where some 30,000 voters are registered.
Source: DN
