RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 8, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Brushing off accusations that he is
abusing Brazil's national day to bolster his reelection campaign, President
Jair Bolsonaro presided over massive, politically charged festivities
Wednesday, telling supporters that polls showing him behind are "a lie."

Brazil is deeply divided heading into the October 2 election, with the far-
right incumbent trailing leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but
looking determined to make a show of strength as the country marks 200 years
of independence from Portugal.

That included presiding over a giant procession of soldiers, tanks and
tractors down the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia, then flying to Rio de
Janeiro for an air show, paratroop display and rallies by supporters riding
motorcycles and jet skis against the postcard backdrop of the city's iconic
Copacabana beach.

In a fiery speech to a sea of supporters clad in the green and yellow of the
flag, the ex-army captain denounced polls from leading public opinion
institute Datafolha -- whose latest shows him trailing Lula 45 percent to 32
percent -- as "a lie."

"The people are on our side -- the side of good," Bolsonaro, 67, said in the
capital.

"We know we are facing a battle of good versus evil."

In Rio, he called Lula, 76, "the racketeer," alluding to the controversial
corruption charges that landed the charismatic-but-tarnished ex-metal worker
in jail from 2018 to 2019.

Lula, Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, hit back on Twitter, accusing
Bolsonaro of hijacking the bicentennial festivities.

"September 7 should be a day of love and unity for Brazil. Unfortunately,
that's not what's happening today," he wrote.

"But I have faith Brazil will reclaim its flag, its sovereignty and its
democracy."

- 'Volunteers for Bolsonaro' -

Supporters hailed the massive turnout in cities across the country, including
crowds that easily numbered in the tens of thousands in Brasilia, Rio and Sao
Paulo, as evidence that Bolsonaro was bound for victory.

"I'm sure he's going to win, as long as there's no fraud," said 34-year-old
police firearms instructor Luiz Garcia at the Rio rally, a Brazilian flag
draped over his shoulders.

"Unfortunately, there's no way to know what could happen."

Bolsonaro's open hostility toward the Supreme Court and electoral authorities
was a recurring theme among the crowds.

"Bolsonaro, activate the military to depose the Supreme Court," said one
banner in Rio, carried by 64-year-old supporter Suely Ferreira.

"Our country is being ruined by the (high) court's dictatorship," she told
AFP.

The Bolsonaro camp was highly active on social networks in the run-up to
Independence Day, urging supporters to turn out en masse.

Bolsonaro's congressman son Eduardo raised eyebrows on Twitter Monday by
calling on Brazilians "who have legally purchased guns" -- a contingent his
father has sought to expand with aggressive gun-control rollbacks -- to
enlist as "volunteers for Bolsonaro."

Such comments have added to fears of violence around the election if
Bolsonaro, who regularly attacks Brazil's voting system as fraud-ridden --
without evidence -- follows in the footsteps of his political role model,
former US president Donald Trump, and refuses to accept the result.

Despite such fears, there were no reports of unrest at Wednesday's events.

- 'More campaign than commemoration' -

Critics accused Bolsonaro of blurring the line between his official duties
and his reelection campaign.

The festivities were "more campaign rally than commemoration," said political
scientist Mauricio Santoro of Rio de Janeiro State University.

"They show Bolsonaro still has a huge capacity to mobilize his most faithful
supporters, and that this could be the nucleus he uses to contest the
election result," he told AFP.

Analyst Adriano Laureno of consulting firm Prospectiva called the
celebrations a "show of strength" for the president.

"But in terms of winning votes, especially among centrists, moderates and
women, groups that Bolsonaro needs, I don't think these demonstrations had
much positive effect, no matter how big they were."

Bolsonaro, who is keen to court women voters, instead drew accusations of
machismo from some after his speech in Brasilia, where he urged any bachelor
supporters to find a "princess" to marry, pulled first lady Michelle in for a
kiss, then alluded to his supposed sexual prowess.