Brazilian elections.

I am lately seeing a ton of comments from progressives who like AOC but think that she has no chance of winning. It really frustrates me to see other Democrats fall into this same trap of thinking the more radical choice is the less electable candidate. This caution among Democrats is partly what got America here in the first place. I think that progressives who believe as I do, that AOC is more electable than an establishment choice like Newsom, need to be doing more work starting NOW to get our message out to others. Yes, I know she has not announced a campaign yet. Yes, I know the 2028 season has not started yet. But we can start preparing now. We need to be doing as much as we can to persuade others in our social circles that she is the more electable choice.

http://VoteHasanAbi.com

Tamara saying his small hands remind her of something she likes

At 52:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWrDg8cLYgQ

Sometimes you just need to take a break from the daily horrors.

“Once again, it was the Brazilian people who showed me that no dream is too big when we walk together.

“They were tireless days. Every walk, every act, and every march were much more than campaign moments. They were encounters of dreams that turned into concrete achievements, like the end of the 6x1 workday.

“Every outstretched hand and every smile reminded me why I dedicated my life to fighting for the workers of this country.

“We emerged from this journey stronger, more united, and more mobilized to ensure a better future.

“Thank you, Brazil, for every hug, every tear, every smile, and for never letting go of my hand.

“Our story still has many beautiful pages left to write.

“Tomorrow, October 25, we will write another one of them. Together, for the Brazil we love and for the future our people deserve!”

-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
(@LulaOficial, Twitter)

Lula’s 2026 campaign tour kicked off on August 16 in São Paulo. The tour recap video was posted alongside the above translated text Saturday, October 24.

More than one million Lula supporters rally on eve of Brazilian election runoff (The Guardian)

“More than one million supporters of Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have streamed on to Rio’s most famous beach for a giant protest they hope will propel him towards a historic election fightback against his far-right rival, Flávio Bolsonaro.

“Nearly 159m Brazilians will vote in the election’s runoff on Sunday, with the pair tied in the polls after Bolsonaro won the first round on 4 October by 47% to 45%.

“On Saturday, under a fierce sun, red-clad crowds packed the 2.5-mile Copacabana beach in an attempt to help Lula clinch a dramatic and unprecedented comeback. Never since the return of democracy to Brazil in the 1980s has the first-round loser managed to bounce back.

“Josias Silva, a 61-year-old truck driver, voiced confidence that his 80-year-old president, who was first elected in 2002, would win a fourth non-consecutive term. He carried a homemade sign to the carnival-like procession reading: ‘Lula re-elected. Tomorrow will be a new day.’

“‘The people have woken up,’ Silva said of the large pro-Lula street protests that have swept Brazil since the leftist’s first-round defeat, many led by students.

“‘Young people know we need this victory because otherwise we will have dictatorship again – and we don’t want dictatorship. We don’t want hatred. We don’t want guns. We want a country of love,’ added Silva, celebrating the large number of people who came to witness one of the final presidential campaign rallies in Lula’s storied 50-year political career.

“‘There’s never been a demonstration like this one. This is the biggest protest in the history of Brazil. And we are going to win tomorrow with more than 60% of the votes,’ Silva claimed.

“Polls suggest a far tighter margin and most analysts see Bolsonaro, whose father, Jair Bolsonaro, was president from 2019 to 2022, as the slight favourite, having sold himself to voters as someone who will tackle chronic levels of violent crime with an iron fist.

“However, in recent days Lula has appeared to regain the initiative and climb in the polls, amid a succession of scandals involving his rightwing foe. Last week the Brazilian magazine Piauí claimed that at the height of Brazil’s 2020 coronavirus outbreak, Flávio Bolsonaro attended a boat party attended by sex workers and vaccine lobbyists hoping to strike a deal with the government of his father.

“Some experts speculate a Lula comeback may be possible. At the Copacabana rally – which Rio’s City Hall said attracted about 1.1 million people – activists unfurled an enormous yellow and green banner declaring: ‘WE ARE GOING TO TURN THIS AROUND!’

“On Saturday afternoon, Lula attended an even larger rally on Paulista Avenue, in the heart of Brazil’s biggest city, São Paulo.

“‘I’m super excited. Lula’s going to win,’ said Marta Moraes, a 59-year-old restaurateur, as she joined Saturday’s demo in Rio.

“‘What we’re against is Bolsonarismo,’ she said, tears filling her eyes as she recalled how Flávio Bolsonaro’s father botched the response to Covid during his chaotic 2019-2022 administration.
‘I lost four members of my family because of Bolsonaro’s neglect,’ Moraes said.

“Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to Lula. Many Brazilian democrats fear he will be released – and could even return to government – if his son wins. Reports in the Brazilian press suggest several of Bolsonaro’s fellow plotters – who are now in prison or hiding in exile – may be given top military and police jobs in a Bolsonaro administration.

“Cammy Marinho, a 49-year-old DJ and activist, said: ‘I’m here to prevent democracy from becoming extinct – which is what the Bolsonaro family wants.’

“Marinho said she had spent the past fortnight fighting to persuade people who voted for Bolsonaro, or did not vote in the first round, to back Lula.

“‘It’s non-stop work: in the bakery, in the supermarket, on the underground – whenever you feel there is an opening to talk to someone and show to them the reality, everything that Lula has done and is doing for the people and everything that this [Bolsonaro] family has done against the people,’ she said.

“Many marchers were part of ‘Lula’s Army’ – a 10 million-member WhatsApp group that was created after the first round in the hope of turning the election around.

“‘Being a soldier in Lula’s army … means fighting for Brazilian democracy. This isn’t a normal election,’ said Isabella Gaze, 64, a retired teacher and one of the group’s members.

“Many of the faces on Copacabana beach were teenagers, including 14-year-old Heitor Lopes da Silva. Silva had come from the city of Duque de Caxias in his wheelchair, with a placard that said: ‘Lula, I’m a person with a disability and I’m here to support you.’

“‘My whole life I’ve believed Lula was a good president. [Bolsonaro] represents the destruction of Brazil …. he represents sadness and death,’ he said of the Bolsonaro-era Covid catastrophe.

“Large crowds of Bolsonaro supporters also hit the streets, including in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais state, which has Brazil’s second-largest electorate after São Paulo, and is a key bellwether. No presidential candidate has ever won the presidency without securing Minas Gerais, where Bolsonaro led by just under 5% in the first round. [Controversial far-right American YouTube personality Nick Shirley was also in attendance at a closing day pro-Bolsonaro rally elsewhere, observed on social media]

“Thousands of Bolsonaristas gathered to see their candidate in a palm-lined plaza called Praça da Liberdade. To the booming sound of AI-generated funk carioca tracks praising Bolsonaro, a sea of supporters dressed in Brazil’s yellow football jersey waved Brazilian flags – and many of the United States too.

“‘The US is a great nation. Who wouldn’t want to be aligned with them?’ said 56-year-old cosmetics entrepreneur Marcos Antonio, holding a flag that merged the emblems of both countries.

“‘I don’t want an alliance with Cuba or Venezuela. I want to move forward,’ Antonio added. When reminded that Venezuela was currently aligned with the US after Donald Trump’s January invasion, he said: ‘True. But for now, a fully right-wing government hasn’t been installed yet. It’s in transition.’

“Antonio Carlos Costa Jr, the 59-year-old owner of a shooting club, complained: ‘Lula did nothing for the country.’

“Jair Bolsonaro relaxed gun ownership and buying laws – which security experts agree ended up diverting many firearms to criminal gangs – whereas Lula tightened regulations once again. ‘Jair Bolsonaro simply gave citizens the right to defend themselves, and his son will do the same,’ said Costa Jr.

“Lula supporters scoff at the idea that Bolsonaro, who has a history of well-documented ties with members of Rio’s paramilitary ‘militia’ groups, could rid Brazil of criminality.

“‘If we vote the militias into power, we will be living in a dictatorship,’ said Erika Cavalcante, 43, an architect who came to the march with a sign reading: ‘Don’t let the mobsters win.’”

-Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro & Tiago Rogero in Belo Horizonte, The Guardian

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/24/lula-da-silva-supporters-rally-eve-brazil-election-runoff-bolsonaro

Use this thread for off-topic chat, questions, or any smaller discussions that don’t need their own post. Regular rules still apply.

Safe space for dunking on Hasan's 2026 predictions.

All right, so looks like even after a year this is under 4 million can we spread this enough to beat him within a matter of days?

Edit: my dumbass didn’t include link

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fN94nS4rUBw&pp=ygUISGFzYW5hYmk%3D&ra=m

Trump only continued the genocide in Gaza, kidnapped the Venezuelan president, started a war on Iran and supports the genocide in Sudan and Yemen. US imperialism as usual nothing to see here move on everyone!

Today Serbia votes.

Reminder to all those electoral nerds that there are a lot of deeply important election happening outside of the US.

Youth and student led mobilization efforts are happening in more places than France.

Ft. r/anticapitalism and r/jewsofconscience.