By Gabriel Araujo
SAO PAULO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's opposition took to the streets on Independence Day on Monday as right-wing presidential candidate Senator Flavio Bolsonaro sought to capitalize on a Supreme Court crisis to bolster his campaign against leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in next month's election.
In chilly temperatures, some 28,500 people massed on Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue for the conservatives' rally, researchers from the University of Sao Paulo's Monitor do Debate
Politico estimated.
Organizers cast the demonstration as a protest against Lula's government and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ahead of first-round voting on October 4.
The justice aggressively pursued former President Jair Bolsonaro, the senator's father, over a 2023 coup plot and won his conviction in 2025, making Moraes one of Brazil's most polarizing figures.
"This consortium of Lula and Moraes will come to an end," Flavio Bolsonaro told supporters. "Anyone who votes for Lula is voting for Alexandre de Moraes."
A Quaest poll released on Monday showed Lula and Bolsonaro tied at 41% each in a potential presidential runoff, which would be held on October 25.
Speaking from a sound truck alongside other conservative politicians, Bolsonaro sought to revive mass street demonstrations that were a hallmark of his father, though turnout fell short of the elder Bolsonaro's crowds.
A similar event last year drew about 42,000 people, while a rally called by Jair Bolsonaro in early 2024 attracted roughly 185,000 supporters.
An inflatable doll depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, a longstanding ally of Bolsonaro, holding a jailed Lula figure towered above the crowd. Many demonstrators waved Brazilian flags, while others carried U.S. and Israeli flags.
SUPREME COURT CRISIS
Bolsonaro's running mate, Congressman Alfredo Gaspar, similarly linked Lula to Moraes, casting the justice as a political partner of the leftist leader.
"There is no Lula without Alexandre, nor Alexandre without Lula. That's why we say: 'Out Lula, out Moraes'," he told the crowd.
The rally came as unprecedented conflict engulfed the Supreme Court after Justice Andre Mendonca, a Bolsonaro appointee, disclosed a report raising questions about alleged contacts between Moraes and a banker accused of leading a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, prompting calls for an investigation of the justice.
Moraes responded by seeking an investigation into Mendonca for alleged abuse of authority.
Bolsonaro has argued that his father, currently under house arrest and barred from running for office, is the victim of political persecution by Moraes.
"The dissatisfaction is enormous with a whole corrupted system. We are Bolsonaro supporters. It's a shame what Bolsonaro went through, and now our option is Flavio," said attendee Deisi Moro, adding the crowd was significant despite the cold weather.
Bolsonaro supporter Robson Nonato de Souza, 56, said the event blended political protest with electoral campaigning.
Lula attended the traditional Independence Day military parade in Brasilia but did not deliver a speech. Instead, he addressed the nation on television the previous evening, emphasizing national sovereignty.
"Defending Brazil's independence is defending our sovereignty and our democracy," Lula said. "We cannot bow our heads before foreign powers that want to turn Brazil into a colony again."
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Additional reporting by Eduardo Simoes, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Debora Ely; Editing by Manuela Andreoni and Cynthia Osterman)
