Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro Draw Crowds on Final Day of Tight Brazil Run-Off Campaign

Brazilian presidential candidates Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro gathered thousands of supporters at rallies on Saturday, the last day of campaigning before a closely fought run-off election on Sunday.

Lula, who is 80, wore a red hat as he spoke to hundreds of people at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. He waved a Brazilian flag from a campaign truck while crowds filled the area. Referring to his rival's links to US President Donald Trump, Lula said: "The people must choose either someone who kisses the national flag or someone who kisses the American flag."

The incumbent left-wing leader is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term. The run-off will decide whether Brazil keeps Lula in office or joins a wider shift toward the right seen across the region.

Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator and the son of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, took 47 percent of the vote in the first round, narrowly ahead of Lula's 45 percent. Recent surveys suggest the contest remains almost level. A CNT/MDA poll released Saturday put Bolsonaro at 46.3 percent and Lula at 45 percent. A week earlier the same poll had Bolsonaro ahead by 46.8 percent to 45.9 percent. The margin of error was 2.2 percentage points.

Bolsonaro's supporters held their own gathering on Saturday in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, where hundreds of motorcyclists in Brazil's yellow national football shirts took part. One of them, Ebert Dorigo, told the news agency AFP that Lula's Workers' Party (PT) had encouraged dependence on government welfare and that the country needed a change of direction.

"The values we uphold are nation and family," Dorigo said. He argued that Brazil is divided because welfare-based policies have left some people failing to grasp that improvement and achievement come only through hard work.

The campaign has been bitter and has exposed deep divisions over economic policy, crime and the country's political future. Bolsonaro has pledged to address crime by adding hundreds of thousands of prison places, and to cut government spending. His father, who was president from 2019 to 2022, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula.

The two candidates adopted a calmer tone in their final debate on Friday, though they still traded accusations over Brazil's economic difficulties and each other's records.

For some voters, the decision has not been easy. Gabriela Ribeiro Viana, an event organiser, told AFP: "If there were any other candidate, that would be a better option. But we're stuck choosing between the worst, the horrible, and the lesser evil."