“We want him back,” comments André, wearing a t-shirt with Jair Bolsonaro’s image under his leather biker jacket, during the first round of the Brazilian presidential elections this Sunday, October 2nd. The 52-year-old Brazilian entrepreneur is backing the outgoing far-right president against leftist ex-president Lula and the other candidates.
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Like André, 156 million voters are called upon to choose who will lead Brazil over the next four years. Lula leads in the polls. But on Bolsonaro’s side, his activists still believe in it. Among them are many bikers who share the same passion for big cars as the populist president.
André shows his support for Jair Bolsonaro on his motorcycle’s windshield. (SANDRINE ETOA-ANDEGUE / RADIO FRANCE)
André meets up with other bikers on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The 50-year-old knows the video of his meeting with President Bolsonaro on the occasion of the first biker rally after his election in 2018 by heart, but he is just as euphoric when he looks at it: “Ah, it moves me, it moves . He’s a really good guy.”
According to André, the head of state, a keen biker, spoiled the large Brazilian biker community during his tenure. “Little by little, he lowered the tolls on the motorways for motorcycles,” explains the Brazilian. For him, Jair Bolsonaro is “a man who tells the truth, brutal, provocative”.
“Besides, he’s calmed down a bit lately, his language has changed because of his advisors. But we’re the Bolsonaro who makes everything we love fart!”
André, a Brazilian biker
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Valeria wants to believe her Harley between her legs after the victory she has achieved. This biker doesn’t believe the polls that give Lula the lead. “In 2018, the polls declared him lost, she recalls. This time, I even think he has a great chance of winning in the first round, just look at the images of crowds supporting the President across Brazil .”
Valeria, a Brazilian biker who is supporting outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro in his re-election. (SANDRINE ETOA-ANDEGUE / RADIO FRANCE)
Behind his sunglasses, Marcio is suspicious of electronic voting and traditional media, which raise suspicions of corruption surrounding President Bolsonaro’s eldest son. “This left-wing ex-president, who was in prison for corruption, is trying to make us believe that Bolsonaro is also corrupt, but they have no proof,” Marcio said angrily. When Lula returns to power, he whistles: “I would be really ashamed to be Brazilian.”
Brazilian bikers support Bolsonaro in his re-election – report by Sandrine Etoa-Andegue
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