Thousands of Brazilians on Thursday flocked to the University of Sao Paulo's law school to stand up for Brazil's democratic institutions. Nearly 45 years ago, a similar gathering took place where citizens joined together to denounce military dictatorship under far-right then-President Emílio Garrastazu Médici.

During the protests, the people of Brazil heard statements defending the democratic process and the nation's electoral framework, which President Jair Bolsonaro has regularly attacked in the spur of his reelection campaign.

Although Bolsonaro isn't mentioned by name in the current manifestos, they highlight the widespread worry in the nation that the far-right leader may follow in the footsteps of former US President Donald Trump and ignore the results in an effort to retain power.

José Carlos Dias, a former justice minister who took part in 1977 declarations, told the AP that "We are at risk of a coup, so civil society must stand up and fight against that to guarantee democracy." 

Drivers in Sao Paulo's gridlocked traffic cheered and honked as marching students yelled pro-democracy slogans on one of the main highways approaching the law school. The words "RESPECT THE VOTE" was printed on a sizable inflatable electronic voting machine beside the building's main door.

Previously, The Guardian cited experts as saying that Bolsonaro's current advance in most polls by double figures is due to much of the President's "inflammatory language".

The Brazilian President adopted extremist views against women, Afro-Brazilians, and the left.

In 2018, he told a crowd in Acre that he wanted to “strafe” leftists and “run them out” of the state.

The newspaper website highlighted that despite his rhetoric, Bolsonaro himself was subject to political violence. A month before his 2018 presidential win, he was stabbed and spent weeks in hospital.

Felipe Borba, the coordinator of a political violence thinktank at Rio's Unirio university, told The Guardian that Bolsonaro's rhetoric hasn't changed during his time in office, adding that his disappointing poll numbers are forcing him to adopt more extreme views to frighten opposition campaigners.

Brazil's political leaders called for calm following the killing of Marcelo Arruda, a Workers’ Party member, that prompted concerns that political violence will erupt ahead of October’s presidential election in the country, The Guardian reported in mid-July.

AFP also mentioned at the time that far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have both taken to wearing bullet-proof vests to campaign rallies ahead of the October elections, with the candidates' security viewed as a major concern in an atmosphere of deep political polarization.

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