The face of the Brazilian president is omnipresent as a samba school rehearses its Carnival parade in front of thousands of spectators chanting the refrain of its theme song: "Ole, ole, ole, ola; Lula, Lula!"
The decision by samba school Academicos de Niteroi to pay homage to veteran leftist President Inacio Lula da Silva at this year's Carnival extravaganza has raised eyebrows just eight months before elections.
Academicos de Niteroi will be the first to parade down Rio de Janeiro's Sambodrome on February 15, at the start of the three-day competition that is the peak of the city's annual Carnival festivities.
Twelve samba schools will compete in parades featuring thousands of participants, with colossal, often animated floats, booming drum sections, and dancers draped in little more than beads and glitter.
Each year the schools choose a theme linked to Brazilian culture, history, or popular figures.
While Academicos argues it wants to honor Lula to thank him for his social welfare policies, the opposition has denounced the parade as equivalent to a campaign event months before official campaigning begins in August.
Lula, 80, who is expected to attend the parade as a spectator, is seeking a fourth term in the October elections.
"This is not propaganda, it's a tribute. Many people in our school were able to get an education thanks to the president's public policies," Hamilton Junior, one of the school's directors, told AFP.
- 'One of Brazil's greatest presidents' -
Junior said it was a story of a man from Brazil's poor north-east who "faced many hardships and became one of Brazil's greatest presidents."
During technical rehearsals at the Sambodrome -- which draw large crowds -- dancers dressed as steelworkers in reference to Lula's past occupation.
The lyrics of the song recount Lula's poor childhood in rural Pernambuco, his move to Sao Paulo, his union activism, and social policies implemented under his different administrations.
There is no mention of the October election, but the song does not shy away from Brazil's current political scene.
It refers to "tariffs and sanctions" imposed by US President Donald Trump to punish Brazil for putting his ally, former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for plotting a coup.
Trump has since lifted many of these measures.
The song also includes the phrase "no amnesty," a nod to efforts by Bolsonaro's supporters to reduce a 27-year prison sentence he began serving in November.
A large screen mounted on the back of a truck displayed images mocking Bolsonaro -- showing him in a prison uniform or with blood-stained hands, a reference to his Covid-skepticism.
Bolsonaro has anointed his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as his political heir and presidential candidate.
- Opposition complains -
One of the composers of the samba told local media that Lula had cried when Academicos leaders travelled to Brasilia last year to play the song for him.
Center-right lawmaker Kim Kataguiri filed a lawsuit demanding Academicos return the one million reais ($180,000) each of the 12 schools receives in federal funding for the parade.
"It is unacceptable that the president sends one million reais, and even worse in an election year, to a samba school to celebrate a festival whose main theme is the president himself," Kataguiri told AFP on Tuesday.
Lawmakers from the right-wing Partido Novo asked Brazil's Federal Court of Auditors to block the funding.
A senator allied with Bolsonaro demanded that the courts prohibit the television broadcast of the parade.
The Brazilian agency for the promotion of international tourism, Embratur, which provides the funds, said in a statement that it "respects the artistic autonomy and freedom of expression of the samba schools."
Watching the rehearsal, Adriano Santos, a 43-year-old social worker from the Rocinha favela, said the samba school was "being brave, innovative."
"There will be those who like it and those who don't, but I believe this parade will represent Brazil."
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