MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro says voting for Lula is like hiring traffickers to fight drug dealing

If I wanted to stage a coup I'd remain silent and do it on the last day, Bolsonaro argued

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro likened his predecessor and electoral rival Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva and the latter's running mate to notorious local drug traffickers.

 ”Lula and [Vice Presidential candidate Geraldo] Alckmin are as if Marcola and Fernandinho Beira-Mar join forces to fight drug trafficking, (they) want to return to the scene of the crime,” said Bolsonaro on a podcast.

Marcola used to be the leader of the First Capital Command (PCCC), the country's main criminal organization, while Luiz Fernando da Costa, better known as Fernandinho Beira-Mar or Gaucho is a former trafficker also referred to as the “Emperor of Rio de Janeiro.”

Bolsonaro will seek reelection through the Liberal Party (PL, right) ticket in the October 2 elections alongside former Cabinet Chief General Walter Souza Braga Neto opposite Lula and former Sao Paulo Governor Alckmin.

Regarding recent comments about his fears of ending up in jail like former Bolivian de facto leader Jeanine Áñez, Bolsonaro insisted that “I am not worried about that, if I wanted to stage a coup I would not talk about the coup, I would let things run and on the last day I would stage a coup,” he stressed.

“Why these accusations of a coup against me? Our word is transparency, what I want is transparency” in the elections, Bolsonaro went on while reiterating his concerns over the reliability of the electronic ballot boxes and the electoral fraud that might ensue, which would benefit Lula.

During the 5-hour live podcast which was said to have over 400,000 listeners, Bolsonaro also pointed out that watching Alckmin chanting “Lula! Lula!” was somewhat embarrassing. Lula and Alckmin were rivals in the 2006 elections, which the Workers' Party leader won in the runoff over his now associate.