00:00Hundreds of thousands of people came out to the streets of Sao Paulo to show their support
00:05for President Lula today in what may turn out to be the final campaign rally of his
00:10career.
00:11Our correspondent Brian Mir has more details.
00:16Saturday October 24th was the last day before Brazil's second round presidential elections,
00:21and supporters of both candidates held rallies across the country.
00:25In Sao Paulo, hundreds of thousands of people came out to Paulista Avenue to show their
00:30support for President Lula in what is already been called one of the biggest street demonstrations
00:35in the history of the city.
00:40The Bolsonaro government butchered investment in the federal university system.
00:44His family has always acted against investment in science, technology and education, and they
00:50oppose the public university system in general.
00:56Furthermore, they support subservience to the United States.
01:00So of course they don't prioritize investments in science and technology for developing Brazil.
01:05During the final debate on the night of Friday, October 23rd, President Lula highlighted his
01:10upbringing in poverty and history of fighting for the working class.
01:14And Sao Paulo's working class was out in full force in his support, from the football team
01:19ultras to the labor union members and public school students.
01:24Considering the entire history of the Bolsonaros, they can be viewed as a family that fights against
01:30democratic rights.
01:32They attempted to stage a coup on January 8th, 2023.
01:37They nominated top-ranking military commanders to head their ministries.
01:42We support Lula because we want to strengthen democracy in our country.
01:46We are defending democratic freedoms.
01:47During the last 23 years, since the Workers' Party first took office, public universities have
01:53transformed from a space of privilege for the upper middle class to a system in which over
01:5850% of the student body are working class Afro-Brazilians.
02:01Many people held up signs expressing their concern that based on the behavior of his father when
02:06he was president, Flavio Bolsonaro will work to undo all of those gains.
02:10If it weren't for the Lula government, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to enroll in college.
02:15I've lived in a favela my whole life.
02:17I'm 19 years old, and if it weren't for Lula, I wouldn't be in university today.
02:21Brazil's second-round presidential election will take place on October 25th.
02:26Brian Meir, Tala Sur, Sao Paulo.
