Paris, France- Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward and Brazil captain, Neymar Júnior, has endorsed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for a second term.
Neymar appeared on a TikTok video on Thursday singing Bolsonaro’s campaign jingle in which he lip-synchs, “Vote, vote, and press confirm for 22, that’s Bolsonaro,” in reference to the President’s official ballot number.
His endorsement comes a day after Bolsonaro visited the footballer’s non-profit organization, Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr, in the State of Sao Paulo.
However, Neymar’s show of support has sparked criticism but he has since clapped back at the critics.
“They talk about democracy and a lot of things, but when someone has a different opinion they are attacked by the very people who talk about democracy. Go figure,” said Neymar on Twitter.
Bolsonaro is currently trailing his rival, former left-wing President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in opinion polls ahead of the first-round vote on Sunday.
In a final heated debate on Thursday, between Bolsonaro and Lula, the former President told Bolsonaro to “look in the mirror” if he wanted to see corruption.
“It’s ugly for the President of the Republic to blatantly lie all the time. That’s why the people are going to send you packing,” said Lula.
Lula who presided over an economic boom, leaving office with an unprecedented approval rating of 87 percent is meanwhile appealing to the indigent, minority and anti-Bolsonaro voters.
The 76-year-old is seeking a remarkable political comeback just four years after being jailed on controversial corruption convictions stemming from a massive scandal centred on State-run oil giant Petrobras.
Bolsonaro took power in 2018 with the support of several top names, including the former Barcelona forwards Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, Tottenham winger Lucas Moura and ex-Juventus and Galatasaray midfielder Felipe Melo.
Upcoming elections in Brazil are the most polarized in recent history and also the most radicalized across the country, the electoral campaign has been marked by physical attacks, death threats and even murder. It is a source of growing concern as the October 2 vote draws closer, with more than 67 percent of the population saying they fear becoming a victim of violence for their political choices, according to a recent survey by the Datafolha polling firm.
In addition, the polling firm said physical and verbal attacks target not only political candidates and their supporters but also polling firms citing that it has recorded around a dozen attacks on its field workers across the country.
