Rio Students Roar "Never Again Bolsonaro": Fear and Fury Under the Shadow of Far-Right Restoration

Rio de Janeiro — According to Agence France-Presse and France 24, on October 7 thousands of students took to the streets of central Rio de Janeiro to protest far-right presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, who surged to the front of the pack in the October 5 first-round vote. Protesters beat drums and set off fireworks, chanting "Never again Bolsonaro" and calling on voters to back incumbent left-wing President Lula in the October 25 runoff. The size and fervor of the march far exceeded that of the Lula campaign rally held at the same location the previous Friday, which many critics had dismissed as lackluster.

Flavio, 45, is the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. His leap to the front of the pack in Sunday's first-round election has thrown the left into emergency mobilization mode. Iara Pinheiro, a 16-year-old first-time voter, held up a placard reading "Neither the father, nor the son." She said: "I am a Black woman, and I think that if things keep going this way and we elect Bolsonaro again, we are going to lose our rights. I think we are going to lose democracy."

One of the protesters' most immediate anxieties is that Flavio, if elected, might seek to pardon his father. Jair Bolsonaro attempted a coup after losing the 2022 election and is currently serving a 27-year sentence. "Pardoning coup plotters is giving the green light to new coups," another placard declared bluntly.

Memories of the COVID-19 pandemic became a key rallying point. During Jair Bolsonaro's time in office (2019 to 2022), he dismissed the novel coronavirus as a "little flu," and Brazil's death toll surpassed 700,000 — the second highest in the world, behind only the United States. Alice Carneiro, a 25-year-old maritime industry manager, spoke tearfully in an interview: "I remember my family being in danger during the pandemic... I remember the denial of vaccines." Her reason for taking to the streets was brief and heavy: "I believe in democracy. Because I am afraid." She fears that her transgender wife could face political retaliation under a new government.

The economic agenda is equally a focus of student concern. Flavio has pledged sweeping budget cuts, echoing the image of Argentine libertarian President Milei by brandishing a pair of scissors and publicly praising his economic reforms. Against the backdrop of Brazil's public debt ballooning under high interest rates, the first-round result sent the São Paulo stock exchange soaring to a record high — a bet by capital markets on the new government's austerity line that stands in sharp contrast to students' fears that federal universities, scientific research scholarships, and social programs such as the "Popular Pharmacy" could be weakened.

Emmanuel Araujo, a 19-year-old preparing for university entrance exams, summed up the anxiety of many young people: "Even if I get into college, it makes no sense to enter a university with no funding." He described the rise of the far right as "very sad."

Flavio has pledged to use the right's new dominance in Congress to push through constitutional reform, shrink the size of government, and reshape the tax system, but which specific cuts he will ultimately pursue — and whether he will push to pardon his father — remains to be seen. Lula, now nearly 81, has made major adjustments to his campaign: for the first time in the runoff phase, he has turned to selfie-style videos on social media, appealing to supporters on Instagram and TikTok: "Come on, friends, let's take to the streets; let's go talk to people."

In the coming days, Brazil will also see a series of additional pro-democracy rallies.