LONDON

Brazil celebrated its bicentennial independence from Portugal on Wednesday, with colorful parades and military displays as the nation is bracing for October presidential election.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attended the Independence Day military parade in the South American nation's capital, Brasilia.

Ahead of the celebration day, Bolsonaro had called for his supporters to take to the streets, telling TV Brasil "what is at stake is our freedom and our future."

The military parade itself was attended by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters ahead of October's presidential vote, which experts have called the most divisive in recent decades.

In the run-up to the Independence Day, Bolsonaro's opponents condemned what they perceived as the co-option of the 200-year independence to act as his re-election push - as the polls indicate that the far-right president is trailing his leftwing rival and former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro arrived at 8.40 am local time in a presidential Rolls Royce with First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro and was later flanked by a number of close allies as the president seized the moment to push for his own electoral support ahead of the election.

"The will of the people will be present on Oct. 2. Let's all vote, let's convince those who think differently from us, let's convince them of what is best for our Brazil," he said.

Bolsonaro also touched on the "good versus evil" narrative which he has used to refer to his political rival and front-runner Lula, insisting "the people are on our side. The people are on the side of good. The people know what they want"

Shortly before the start of the parade, the national anthem, independence anthem and flag anthem were played. At the start of the parade, a procession of tractors from Brazil's power agribusiness sector and prominent supporters of Bolsonaro, passed through the parade.