Bolsonaro leads controversial bicentennial celebration in Brazil

Brushing off accusations that he is abusing Brazil's national day to bolster his reelection campaign, President Jair Bolsonaro presided over massive, politically charged festivities, telling supporters that polls showing him behind are "a lie."

Brazil is deeply divided heading into the October 2 election, with the far-right incumbent trailing leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but looking determined to make a show of strength as the country marks 200 years of independence from Portugal.

That included presiding over a giant procession of soldiers, tanks and tractors down the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia, then flying to Rio de Janeiro for an air show, paratroop display and rallies by supporters riding motorcycles and jet skis against the postcard backdrop of the city's iconic Copacabana beach.

In a fiery speech to a sea of supporters clad in the green and yellow of the flag, the ex-army captain denounced polls from leading public opinion institute Datafolha -- whose latest shows him trailing Lula 45 percent to 32 percent -- as "a lie."

"The people are on our side -- the side of good," Bolsonaro, 67, said in the capital.

"We know we are facing a battle of good versus evil."

In Rio, he called Lula, 76, "the racketeer," alluding to the controversial corruption charges that landed the charismatic-but-tarnished ex-metal worker in jail from 2018 to 2019.