Voting on October 30th is an act of love.

The vote has power! It is through voting that we define the course of our country, we show that we are part of a democratic nation and that we are proud to exercise citizenship in its purest form. There is nothing more patriotic than voting. But our vote this Sunday will represent much more than the exercise of civic duty. Above all, it will be an act of love.

Love for our neighbors, for those who are hungry, for excluded minorities, for the destroyed Amazon, for the unemployed, for workers in precarious jobs, for those who lost a loved one in the pandemic. Love for Brazil and Brazilians.

On October 30th, we will return to the polls to elect the president who will govern Brazil for the next four years. Two candidates, with very different proposals, are in the race: the current president, with a project of continued destruction of Brazil; and former president Lula, whose main government project is the reconstruction of Brazil as a country for everyone.

In the first round, more than 30 million voters abstained, almost the same number of inhabitants as countries like Canada, Poland, and Peru. This means that these people left their future in the hands of other citizens. We need to change this scenario. It is unacceptable that tens of millions of Brazilians do not understand the turbulent times Brazil is going through.

As I've been saying since the electoral process began, this is not a contest like the previous ones. Quite the contrary, this is the election of our lives! It's the election in which we will choose a leader for the next four years, but which, depending on the result, could bring economic and social setbacks for decades. It could even compromise our young democracy, which remains threatened by the dictatorial stance of the current government.

Let's not lose heart. Sunday is voting day! It will be quick and simple. As most states will only have presidential elections, everything will be faster. Fewer lines, fewer campaign flyers scattered on the streets, just the democratic beep of the electronic voting machine. And best of all, those who couldn't—or simply didn't want to—vote in the first round can still participate in the celebration of democracy this October 30th, as long as they are up to date with the Electoral Court.

When we talk about the importance of our vote, we are talking about a powerful instrument for political and social change. An instrument of power that elevates citizens. A supreme and independent force, as highlighted by the 1988 Federal Constitution in its article 1, sole paragraph: "all power emanates from the people, who exercise it through elected representatives or directly".

And it is with this superpower that we will defeat the fascism that is already entrenched in our country, but there is still time to purge it. We will emerge from this election tired, for it has been an arduous struggle, but sovereign. We will close this sad chapter in Brazilian history and send Bolsonaro and company back to where they should never have left.

So vote!

Vote with your heart!

Vote for Brazil to be happy again!