Brazil's Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro return to their strongholds to kick off presidential campaigns

SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's two main presidential candidates kicked off their campaigns on Sunday, rallying supporters in their political strongholds ahead of what is expected to be a tight October election.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke with nostalgia to more than 10,000 supporters at the Vila Euclides Stadium outside Sao Paulo — a city where he rose to political fame 47 years ago as a metalworkers union leader during the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

The 80-year-old, wearing a hat after a skin cancer diagnosis, insisted Brazil needs more of his policies.

Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro, gathered with thousands of voters on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. His father, under house arrest following his conviction for an attempted coup, did not attend the rally.

Lula echoed his own earlier comments denouncing foreign interference in Brazil's politics. His allies have accused the U.S. government of seeking to boost Flávio Bolsonaro's bid with measures such as raising tariffs on Brazilian exports and revoking the visa of Brazil's ambassador to Washington.

Speaking about Brazil's vast reserves of rare minerals, Lula said “no one (abroad) will tap our minerals. We are going to tap them for the benefit of the Brazilian people.”

Bolsonaro argued that he is “the only one who can sit with the United States, with China, with Israel, with the Middle East, with India and with Argentina to make the best and biggest trade deals for our nation.”

His party's convention was attended by Argentina's President Javier Milei. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several members of the Trump administration have expressed support for him.

Sunday was the first campaign day the 13 candidates in the running but many voters are expected to pay more attention once campaign ads start airing on TV and radio at the end of the month.

“It looks like we are starting slow this time,” said 68-year-old Flávio Alves, a Lula supporter who lives on the same street where the rally was underway. “We all expect a narrow election, but now Lula is in government, things are different.”

Four years ago, Lula beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro with 50.9% of the vote.

Another presidential candidate, Ronaldo Caiado, a former state governor and an agribusiness leader, toured the surroundings of Brazil’s capital Brasilia and reinforced his anti-Lula credentials.

Another Lula opponent, Romeu Zema, met voters and attended a Catholic ceremony in the countryside of Minas Gerais, considered a bellwether state for the elections — a state he had governed until recently.

Lula, who is seeking his fourth nonconsecutive term, and Bolsonaro each reached out to women voters, who account for nearly 53% of Brazil’s 158 million eligible voters, according to the country’s electoral court.

“Men need to learn from childhood that they are no better than women. We need to be equal,” said Lula, as first lady Rosângela da Silva stood by his side, nodding. She was one of the event’s main speakers in Sao Bernardo do Campo, where Lula lived a large part of his life.

Lula said he will launch his platform within 10 days, with more details to come about his policies to benefit women, including education initiatives and policies to prevent and punish violence against women.

Sen. Bolsonaro, with his mother and wife by his side, told supporters he would work to fight violence against women.

In his speech, the younger Bolsonaro vowed to fight crime and to remove what he described as left-wing “ideology” from Brazilian schools. Every student “has the right to dream of being Elon Musk someday," he said.

Before his appearance on Copacabana beach, 45-year-old Bolsonaro said during a live broadcast that he has received 1,800 death threats, without offering evidence. The lawmaker noted that he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

His father was attacked by a man with a knife as he campaigned for the presidency in 2018, suffering internal bleeding and intestinal injuries.

Jair Bolsonaro chose his son to stand against Lula as the Liberal Party’s candidate. The younger Bolsonaro's campaign has faced headwinds since its start, with moderate political parties keeping their distance, a public rift with his stepmother and difficulties in finding a running mate.

The 45-year-old lawmaker, who bears a physical resemblance to his father, clearly sought to establish his own identity.

“I know I look like him. But it is hard to compare Pelé’s son with Pelé,” he said, referring to the three-time World Cup-winning soccer player who died in 2022.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Opposition presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro gives a thumbs-up to supporters as he arrives at a hotel before his campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Opposition presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro gives a thumbs-up to supporters as he arrives at a hotel before attending a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A supporter of opposition presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro carries an image of Flavio Bolsonaro's father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, as he arrives for a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves to supporters as a Brazilian flag is held nearby during a presidential election campaign rally in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Opposition presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife, Fernanda Bolsonaro, greet supporters as they arrive for a presidential election campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves to supporters during a presidential election campaign rally in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday after its eyewall skirted Hawaii without making landfall. But it continued to punish the state with hurricane-force gusts and pounding rain, reaching a total of nearly three feet (one meter) in places and sending raging torrents down mountain slopes.

A search-and-rescue mission including Civil Defense, the National Guard and a Coast Guard helicopter was launched after flash floods apparently swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Na’alehu and Wai’ohinu, near the Big Island's southern tip, authorities said.

“What makes this very challenging is that there’s rushing water, there’s debris, and there’s boulders on the road and it’s dark,” Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said early Sunday.

At least one person died in a vehicle wreck in the South Point area of the Big Island, Gov. Josh Green said Saturday.

Honolulu was bearing the brunt of Sunday morning’s weather as tropical storm conditions spread westward across the island chain. The Honolulu Fire Department had launched dozens of weather-related responses by 2 a.m. local time Sunday, including 58 reports of downed trees, 39 blown roofs, 12 downed power lines, 12 arcing-wire situations and one swimmer rescue, according to a statement from the city.

Much of the state remained under a flash flood warning, though the National Hurricane Center downgraded the Big Island to a flood advisory lSunday. Heavy rain, mudslides, downed trees, active flooding and downed power lines were among the biggest threats, weather service meteorologist Stephen Parker said.

“Basically, the best thing to do right now is just stay home for a bit longer,” he said. “The storm won’t last forever and once those kind of threats get cleaned up, it will be safe to be out and about again.”

More than 200,000 homes and businesses were without power by 10:30 a.m. local time, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us. That included nearly two-thirds of the power customers on the Big Island. At least three hospitals were operating on generator power, the governor said.

Powerful waves pounded the Big Island’s coast as Lala slowly brushed by. Just missing landfall, the eyewall didn't weaken, and its winds pounded the mountainsides. Waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff as bands of rain blew nearly sideways. The storm struck three years to the month after the state experienced the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau, raising the possibility of destructive flooding and even wildfires kicked up by strong winds on the drier sides of the islands.

The heaviest rain Sunday morning was falling on Lanai, Moloka’i and Oahu, while the highest winds were gusts over 100 mph (161 kph) at the towering Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island, Parker said.

As of 11 a.m. in Hawaii, Lala was centered about 140 miles (220 kilometers) west of Honolulu with top sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 16 mph (28 kph).

The advisory said little change in storm intensity is expected through Monday and forecasters expect Lala could become a hurricane again on Tuesday or Wednesday well west of the island chain.

Some higher-altitude places on the Big Island, dominated by Mauna Kea, have been hit with as much as 35 inches (89 centimeters) of rain. That's enough to loosen steep slopes where some of the 210,000 islanders live off the grid in improvised housing.

As the hurricane approached, shelters were opened, events were canceled and ranchers were urged to leave their cattle in pastures rather than structures that might collapse. Many residents are still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods in March and were taking precautions.

The beloved Punalu’u Bake Shop on in Naalehu, Big Island, a tourist hotspot and major local employer, was severely damaged. Zachary Kennedy, the manager of the Hawaiian sweet bread bakery, said water rushed through their factories and retail store, leaving behind around three feet (1 meter) of mud.

“This is a different level of damage, it’s literally catastrophic,” Kennedy said.

Kate McLellan, a resident on Oahu’s North Shore, was still waiting for the worst of the storm to strike after her power went out Sunday morning. She was glued to the weather network, monitoring Lala's progress.

In March and April, her community was hit by back-to-back storms moving so slowly that weeks of heavy rain and high winds kept residents on high alert. Memories of that storm were "giving that same uncertainty and hesitation and panic and anxiety,” McLellan said.

The state’s preparation and communication during the storm has been better than in the past, she said. Before the storm hit, she spotted crews trimming trees near power lines and digging out passages for streams leading to the ocean.

Associated Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Alexa St. John and Ed White contributed.

Schuettler is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

A downed tree rests on a vehicle due to the passing of Hurricane Lala in Hilo, Hawaii, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

This photo released by the Hawaii Department of Transportation shows damage along a roadway on the eastern edge of Hawaii's Big Island from Hurricane Lala, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Hawaii Department of Transportation via AP)

A road is flooded due to Hurricane Lala in Hilo, Hawaii, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

This NOAA satellite image taken at 3:50 PM ET (EDT) on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, shows Tropical Storm Lala over Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)

The entrance to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, temporarily closed due to Hurricane Lala, is seen in Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

This satellite image released by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Lala over the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

A resident carries supplies to a vehicle during Hurricane Lala in Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A vehicle drives near a downed utility pole dangling above Mamalahoa Highway during Hurricane Lala near Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A view of the rising water levels at the Wainaku Street Bridge in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Taylor Cozloff/Civil Beat via AP)

A resident carries supplies during Hurricane Lala in Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)