President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, said on Saturday morning (19) at a campaign rally in Tancredo Neves square, Florianópolis, that agribusiness has been heavily supported by his government and that, if the sector's loyalty to the Planalto depended on public money, farmers in Santa Catarina should do more than vote for him: they should kneel before him. He spoke alongside Gelson Merísio of the PSB, his candidate for governor of the southern state, in the final stretch before October's first-round vote.

According to Folha de S.Paulo, Lula said he had put Merísio in the state race to "unmask" Governor Jorginho Mello of the PL, who is seeking reelection, and to argue with agribusiness. The president suggested the candidate convene sector leaders, with no papers in hand, to ask why they do not back his Workers' Party.

"Why don't they vote for us? Because the problem against us, I think, is a matter of skin. Is it because I am from the Northeast? Or because I am poor? Because if it depended on government money, they should not only vote, but kneel before me."

Money and markets

Lula then said there has never been as much federal money available for the sector, which Folha describes as important to the economy of Santa Catarina. In his speech, the president cited his government's record for farming. "There are 118 markets that this Lulinha they don't like opened for them to sell their products," he said, according to CNN Brasil, referring to export markets opened for Brazilian farm goods. He also asked why farmers support Jair Bolsonaro, "because it cannot be about education, or health," pointing to the record of the former president's administration.

The campaign trail

The Florianópolis rally also included calls to win over undecided voters and to take the race in the first round, Folha reported. First lady Janja and Senate candidates Afrânio Boppré (PSOL) and Décio Lima (PT) attended, according to CNN Brasil. Lula also said he wants to win the election to keep Jair Bolsonaro in jail, answering the campaign line of Flávio Bolsonaro, his main rival, who says he wants to win to free his father from prison.

For farmers, the remark spells out the government's closing calculation: record credit and opened markets, in the numbers Lula himself cited, have not translated into votes in the countryside, and the president is now demanding an electoral return. For consumers, the race lands on the same sector that supplies Brazil's food, where rural credit, exports and food prices meet.