Lula Takes Campaign to São Gonçalo as Brazil's Election Nears

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took his re-election campaign to São Gonçalo, in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, on Thursday, walking through the city's downtown alongside supporters and local political allies ten days before the October 4 presidential vote.

He was accompanied by Rio de Janeiro governor candidate Eduardo Paes and Senate candidates Benedita da Silva and Pedro Paulo. São Gonçalo is the state's second-largest electoral district, with more than 650,000 registered voters.

Public security was a central theme of the event. Lula said there was no room in the presidential palace for representatives of militias, telling the crowd that the Planalto Palace does not allow such figures in. His allies called for closer cooperation between the federal and state governments in combating organized crime.

Paes and Pedro Paulo pledged to confront militias and other armed criminal groups that control territory in parts of São Gonçalo and the wider Rio metropolitan area. Paes said reclaiming areas under the control of such groups would be a priority if he is elected governor.

Addressing supporters, Lula also criticized opponents he accused of wanting to hand over the country's riches, and said Brazil would not accept interference from anyone in its elections. He and his main rival, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, have concentrated their campaign efforts on Brazil's Southeast in the final stretch before the vote, seeking support in a region that includes the country's three most populous states: São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.