Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro set out to conquer the Northeast before the polls in Brazil

It’s not a biblical exodus – although social networks sometimes portray it that way – that started yesterday Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva s Gayer Christ Bolsonaro In northeastern Brazil, but it is a journey of hope that, in addition to moving sounds, can move symbols.

Although it is southeast of Brazil, with the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, which are crucial to the balance of victory, The Northeast is full of symbols this hot election campaign can’t ignore. In fact, this region of Brazil has always been the land of Lula and the Workers’ Party (PT). The chief of metallurgy in Caitis, in Pernambuco, was born 77 years ago, and his modest house made of mud and wood has been rebuilt for sanctity purposes.

Lula became famous over the years in the Northeast for his policies that allowed this less developed part of the country to benefit from important social programs that changed the lives of many. One of the most famous examples is the social programme.light for all”, created in 2003 during Lula’s first government, which brought electricity to remote areas of the region and Brazil for the first time.

However, in the four years of Bolsonaro’s government, the Northeast was forgotten. An example of this is the program interruption last September tanks, reservoirs that ensure water to Sertão, in the driest and food insecure region of Brazil. If from 2003 to 2018, the federal government delivered 929 thousand water tanks, then in the four years of the Bolsonaro government it was reduced to 37.6 thousand tanks. Of the 74.7 million riyals, or about 12 million dollars, stipulated in the federal budget, only 2.5 million riyals were invested, about 500 thousand dollars in 2020 and 160 thousand riyals, 30 thousand dollars this year.

Which is why it’s no surprise that Lula won in the nine northeastern states in the first round with 66.7% of the vote, compared to Bolsonaro’s 27%. It’s about extension The biggest difference between the candidates in all of Brazilwhich explains why the current president is rushing to win back as many votes as possible in this part of the country.

Ironically, Lula is now doing the opposite, i.e. trying to win votes in the Southeast, where he is weaker. And both of them spent more than 8 million riyals, or about one and a half million dollars, on advertising on the main platforms, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. While Lula invested more for audiences in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro preferred Bahia and Pernambuco. It is admirable to hear in the feudal chants of Lula praising his opponent: “Today I won one vote for Bolsonaro, and today I fulfilled the mission of captain.”

Of course there was no shortage of controversy. After the first round, an unfortunate phrase from Bolsonaro unleashed Lula’s anger: “Lula won 9 of the 10 Brazilian states with the highest illiteracy rate.” That would be high for Bolsonaro “because the Labor Party has been ruling there for 20 years and hasn’t even been able to secure reasonable support”. The idea was later amplified on social networks and in the Polish Whatsapp and Telegram groups that spared no offense to the residents of the Northeast.. Lula responded by saying in an interview with Brazilian radio:Bolsonaro doesn’t like Northeasters, he just likes militiamenHe also wrote on Twitter that “Bolsonaro has no idea how powerful the culture of the Northeast is, so no one with a single drop of blood from the Northeast can vote for this ‘citizen’.”

Yesterday Lula traveled to Sergipe, Alagoas and then to Pernambuco, while Bolsonaro landed directly in Pernambuco in search of evangelical voices.. Lula told the local press, before taking a turn in Aracaju, that “when you rule you cannot have a relationship of friends” and that if elected he will communicate with all rulers “even with those who hate me.” With those who say they don’t love me, I don’t have problem”.

As for Bolsonaro, the president used his trip to the northeast to reiterate that his daughter and wife have Northeast blood and later apologized for his words during the pandemic. “I think I did everything possible in the fight against COVID. I exaggerated some of my words, but it is part of the passion and perhaps also the rigorous education I received.

If Lula and Bolsonaro win, they will find themselves in a region with the worst unemploymentand 15.5% in Bahia, 13.6% in Pernambuco and 12.7% in Sergipe. The fight will really continue until the last vote. Despite the fact that the latest Ipec poll shows Lula winning in the Northeast with 70% of the vote and Bolsonaro trailing with 26%, the president has already won the support of the mayor of the capital of Alagoas, Joao Henrique Caldaswho on October 7 joined his party, the Liberal Party (PL).

Also likely to have the effect of adding votes to Bolsonaro is the scandal that swept the governor of Alagoas, Paul Dantas, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) and an ally of Lula. He was charged with participating in a criminal conspiracy that embezzled 54 million reais, about $10 million, from the Legislative Assembly of Alagoas. He was sacked for 79 days, a ploy that would allow him to take over as governor if re-elected. Lola, on his journey to the Northeast, did not hesitate to march with him, making him a victim of injustice. “I know what you’re going through,” he said, comparing the Dantas case to that of Lava Jato and the Guaruja trio, which for Brazilian judges was a bribe, and for that, they sentenced him to two degrees of trial of 12 years and 11 months.

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