Hundreds of people showed up in Calgary to vote in Brazil’s runoff presidential election on Sunday.
Eder Gambeta was one of those voters. Gambeta moved to Calgary from Brazil to complete his PhD in neuroscience at the University of Calgary.
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of cutting in investments for science back home. I don’t agree with that,” Gambeta said. “We need to invest way more, so I’m voting for someone who supports that idea.”Story continues below advertisement“If I were in Brazil right now, I wouldn’t feel safe because I am a part of a minority and the president now, he doesn’t support minorities so I would feel threatened,” he said.
Young voters like Campello who support former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, know a Lula victory won’t mean the end of Brazil’s problems. According to the Brazilian Association of Alberta, close to 40,000 voters are registered in Canada to vote in Brazil. In Calgary, there are around 1,800.