Bolsonaro on the second round: ‘We beat the lie’

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, said that He emerged victorious in the face of the “lie” in the polls that placed him at a wide disadvantage against his rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, by being only five points behind in the first round of the elections.

“Today we defeated lies,” he said, referring to the Datafolha poll, which predicted a 14-point lead for leftist Lula over Bolsonaro. With 99% of polling stations counted, Lula obtained 48% of the votes compared to 43% for his rival. Both will face each other in a ballot on October 30.

“We have a second round ahead” and “We will be able to show the population that inflation is going down” and that the Government “has not stopped serving the poorest” through various subsidies that were approved in recent months, he said. “I understand that there is a desire for change, but certain changes can be for the worse,” said the president, speaking to the press outside his official residence in Brasilia.

He cited as examples the cases of Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, countries in which the right was displaced by progressive leaders in recent times, and insisted that Brazilians “cannot run the risk of losing their freedom.” “My concern is that Brazil follows the path of Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Nicaragua,” she insisted.

According to Bolsonaro, with a possible return of Lula to power, “The Brazilians will not gain anything and, on the contrary, they will have a lot to lose”. “If he wins, they will give up religious freedom and respect for the family and traditional values.”