Rio de Janeiro (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.
