Greetings from Rio De Janeiro, where Lula is fighting back and coming out with some big, bold ideas, and folks are mobilizing.
1 Million in Copacabana Beach for Lula
Today, over 1 million gathered in Copacabana Beach for Lula. It was one of the largest political rallies in recent memory and Lula wasn’t even there.
Such rallies have been crucial as Lula attempts to rally support for a comeback victory in the second round.
Black Congresswoman Physically Attacked at Lula Rally
Around the country, as Lula attempted to organize support for a comeback, he held massive rallies drawing millions of supporters in major cities. These rallies are meant to get people more involved in the Get Out the Vote effort.
On Friday, 84-year-old Congresswoman Bendidata da Silva and state representative Rentata Souza were speaking at a rally in downtown Rio, when they were violently attacked. A group of Bolsonaro supporters were throwing rocks and water bottles from several stories above them.
The attacks left six women and one child injured. In a joint statement, Silva and Souza said that they would not be deterred.
“They won't intimidate us!” said the two women in a statement. ”We're going to pull off a comeback with Lula!”
Help Stay Safe in Rio
One of the things that I am trying to do to stay safe in rallies is to hire a local cameraman to assist me here when there are major rallies. By having a local reporter and second set of eyes with me, it’s far less likely that something dangerous could happen to me.
<Donate to Help US Stay Safe>
Lula Proposing Publicly-Owned App to Compete with Uber Eats
In the final push of his campaign ahead of the run-off in two weeks, Lula is focusing heavily on uplifting the causes of workers.
Last week, Lula secured from the Brazilian Senate President Davi Alcolumbre a vote on shortening the Brazilian work week from 6 to 5 days.
Now, this week, Lula renewed his push for a publicly-owned app to compete with Uber Eats and IFoods. Unlike those apps that take a big cut, the Brazilian owned app would only take a maximum 10% fee for the service and would guarantee delivery drivers a minimum wage.
Brasil already has its money transfer app called PIX, which allows Brazilians to transfer and spend money at very little cost. Given this platform, Lula feels the government could start its own applications. The measure has won strong support from the Union of App Workers in Brasil.
“A national app could be a more just alternative than the platforms and allow workers to set their own worker rules,” said union president Leonardo Cruz in a video posted to Instagram.
For more, check out the Diário do Litoral.
Alright folks, that’s all for today. We will have more tomorrow. Keep sending tips, comments, and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
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