At LatAm’s biggest rodeo, Brazilians don’t believe the polls

BARRETOS, Brazil — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro traveled to Latin America’s biggest rodeo — a bubble of staunch support — to connect with voters from the countryside ahead of October’s vote.

On Friday evening, the far-right leader rode a horse while holding a cowboy hat in his outstretched arm and greeting supporters draped in Brazil flags, while his campaign jingle “The People’s Captain” played. He joked with them and they prayed together for the future of the country. All major polls show Bolsonaro trailing well behind former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, but one wouldn’t know it from the scene at the rodeo in the municipality of Barretos, in Sao Paulo state.

“This event is already part of our history. Moved by agribusiness, by the work of countryside men and women, Brazil is projecting itself onto the global stage,” Bolsonaro told the crowd, which chanted the word “legend” in reference to him. “Our motto is God, country, family and freedom. Yeee-hooo!”

The multi-day spectacle had tens of thousands of attendees who were predominately white and middle-class. Many came decked out in the national colors of green and canary yellow that Bolsonaro has transformed into symbols of support for his administration. The packed arena roared when Bolsonaro was introduced to the tune of DJ Snake’s and Lil Jon’s song “Turn Down for What,” which his supporters have used in hundreds of videos to portray him as defiant.

Outside, a vendor sold towels bearing the faces of Bolsonaro and da Silva of the leftist Workers’ Party, and displayed a board showing how many of each candidate had been purchased. Barely any featuring da Silva had sold, and attendees took it as a signal their candidate will win the vote. Elsewhere in Brazil, such towel sales scoreboards point in the opposite direction.

Despite da Silva’s lead in the polls, a dozen farmers, cattle ranchers and rodeo fans in Barretos told The Associated Press that Bolsonaro doesn’t need to reach out to many moderate voters, which da Silva is openly attempting to do — most notably, with his selection of a center-right rival turned running mate.

“The last time the polls didn’t say Bolsonaro was going to win,” said 57-year-old Gualter Silveira, who owns a small farm. ‘’This year it is going to be the same. I see him going everywhere. Lula doesn’t. How can Bolsonaro be behind?”

Wearing a Brazilian flag as a scarf, businessman Daniel…