Brazil’s Lula says only he can stop rise of fascism under Bolsonaro’s son

President leads huge rally in Rio before election on Sunday seen as most important for decades

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has claimed he is the only thing standing in the way of far-right “fascists” reclaiming power, as he led a huge rally through the streets of Rio ahead of Sunday’s crunch election.

“If it weren’t for me standing up to these fascists they’d easily win another election. I’m the one standing in their way,” Lula told a popular podcast called Flow, before adding: “It’s either me, or it’s barbarism.”

Hours later, Lula flew to Rio, staging what his team called a “victory march” between two highly symbolic downtown locations that played an important role in Brazil’s fight for democracy during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

Lula, who was among those who spoke at that historic demo when he was an up-and-coming politician in his 30s, added: “Either we consolidate democracy, or we will lose it.”

“No gringo is going to lay a finger on Brazil’s things,” vowed Lula, in an indirect reference to claims Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to sway the vote in Bolsonaro’s favour with a campaign of economic and diplomatic pressure.

Election-eve polls suggest Lula holds only a slender lead over his adversary, whose father, the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup after Lula beat him in the 2022 election.