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Sao Paulo — <\/span>Less forums and interviews. More lunges and squats.<\/p>\n President of Brazil Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva<\/a> The 80-year-old is boosting his re-election bid by looking busy working out, which his critics say makes him more popular than the man himself.<\/p>\n While Brazilians are divided over whether or not they should run for office fourth consecutive term<\/a>There is a rare consensus about their commitment to running on the treadmill every day.<\/p>\n “He’s a little old to campaign again. It would be better if we had someone else run. But his workout is really a good example for people like me,” said Marcela Perez, 63, as she exercised in a hotel gym in Bras\u00edlia on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Lula’s efforts to portray himself as full of energy have left his main rival behind. senator flavio bolsonaro<\/a>Son of former President Jair Bolsonaro also to show his tricks.<\/p>\n Some voters have expressed concern that Lula could follow the path of former US President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for 2024<\/a> On questions about his health and age. But Lula is once again flexing his muscles to challenge supporters to stick with him.<\/p>\n “One of these idiots said it wasn’t me, it was a clone,” Lula said in March, days after his wife. Rosangela da Silva<\/a>Posted a video of her workout routine. “Go to the gym. Get dressed. Drink less and work out and see what happens. I want to live to be 120.”<\/p>\n The President played football frequently during his first two terms and maintained an exercise regimen throughout his tenure. 580 days in jail<\/a> And he has advocated exercise since running to defeat the incumbent in 2022 bolsonaro<\/a>A former army captain is ill.<\/p>\n If Lula wins in October, he will break his own record as the oldest person elected president of Brazil.<\/p>\n His main rival is about half his age.<\/p>\n bolsonaro<\/a>The former president’s 45-year-old son recently mocked Lula by comparing him to an old Chevrolet Opala that is “completely backward” and “drinks too much (fuel).”<\/p>\n Lula, who has appeared in almost every presidential election since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985, shrugged off the insult by describing himself as a “turbo car”.<\/p>\n “He’s doing it to move away from the Joe Biden influence,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “Flavio Bolsonaro is trying to say that he is really young. It’s an image game.”<\/p>\n The young Bolsonaro has been signaling that he is in good shape by sharing photos of himself from short runs to meetings and dancing on stage.<\/p>\n This side of his personality became evident only in December, when his father appointed him as the presidential candidate<\/a> From a prison in the capital, Brazil, where he was serving a 27-year sentence for leading an earlier coup attempt. heading towards house arrest<\/a>.<\/p>\n Felipe Sotelo, a consultant who has run several campaigns for politicians in Brazil, said today’s bids for public office should include candidates regardless of age.<\/p>\n “The opposition will use a certain ageism, a slight bias against older generations, as a tool to damage the president’s performance,” Sotelo said.<\/p>\n But he said Brazil is undergoing a demographic transition, with voters over the age of 60 representing a quarter of the electorate. \u201cThey have more political importance than young people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The number of Brazilians over the age of 60 who are eligible to vote rose from 20.8 million in 2010 to 36.2 million in March this year, according to researcher Nexus, citing data from Brazil’s top electoral court.<\/p>\n Musician Antonio Moreira, 50, loves working out on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, showing off his muscles, his tan and his tattoos. He is part of a small, influential group that could decide the election: Voters are still not committed to Lula or Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n