The final campaign rally for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva filled Paulista Avenue in São Paulo this Saturday afternoon, September 24. It was filled with emotion and a strong commitment to defending democracy.
By noon, two hours before the official start of the gathering, Paulista Avenue was already a sea of red. It was interspersed with Brazilian flags, LGBTQ+ pride flags, and banners representing grassroots movements, political parties, student organizations, and even soccer clubs.
President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva greets supporters during a rally ahead of the presidential runoff at Avenida Paulista on October 24, 2026 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
In the crowd were entire families and people of all ages, beliefs, ethnicities, and regions. Some traveled all night to reach São Paulo. Among them was student Isabelle Ramos, who traveled from Paraná, where she studies, to take part in the demonstration and cast her vote this Sunday, October 25.
The president arrived at 4:00 p.m. and was met with a thunderous ovation the moment he appeared near Rua Pamplona. Thousands followed the vehicle carrying him, accompanied by first lady Janja Lula da Silva, vice-presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin, and former minister Fernando Haddad, Marina Silva, Simone Tebet, and other allies.
They held hands. People waved. Signs filled the crowd. People chanted. Tears fell. The crowd sang Lula’s chant over and over again: “Olê, olê, olê, olá, Lula, Lula.”
“I will always stand with the president. It doesn’t matter that this is the final rally,” said teacher Gabriela Demétrio, speaking to a team reporting for Brasil de Fato, in the crowd. “I don’t believe in an ‘end.’ Lula is the greatest of them all,”
The procession began near the corner of Rua Pamplona, but upon reaching the São Paulo Museum of Art, moving forward became impossible. The “red sea of people” that Lula was navigating made it impossible for the march to continue. Amidst the singing of Lula’s campaign jingles and the chanting of slogans, the crowd belted out the Brazilian national anthem, followed by cries of “long live democracy,” “never again to dictatorship,” and “long live Lula.”
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Lula asked those present to let him step out of his car so he could climb onto the sound truck where the camera operators were positioned.
“I want to see this sea of people,” Lula said, asking for space to be cleared so he could safely exit the vehicle and reach the truck. Despite the immense crowd filling the street, he managed to get through; from the truck, he waved to the crowd, blew kisses, and held up both the flag of Pernambuco and another banner that read “the people, for the people.”
The event concluded on a note of great joy. A sense of a mission accomplished, the result of a massive mobilization that shifted the course of the runoff campaign and may well leave an indelible mark on Brazilian history.
This article was originally published by Brasil de Fato. You can read the original in Portuguese, here.