Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo joined other celebrities in urging Brazilian voters to register to vote, which did not sit well with President Jair Bolsonaro.
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In recent days, Brazilian and foreign celebrities have used their popularity on social media to call on young Brazilians voting for the first time to register on the electoral rolls for the presidential election in October.
It is expected to pit far-right incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro against former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers' Party.
In Brazil, voting is compulsory for anyone between the ages of 18 and 70, and failure to vote results in the payment of a fine of around 70 cents.
But since this fine is small, an increasing number of people do not bother to vote.
Young people aged 16 and 17 can also vote but it is not compulsory.
Brazil's electoral authority says it received a record number of registration applications before the registration deadline, which was set for Wednesday.
In the 2018 presidential election, nearly 116 million voters - out of the 147 million people registered - turned up at polling stations.
Leonardo DiCaprio, actor and environmental activist, is in complete disagreement with Jair Bolsonaro over the Brazilian leader's efforts to expand development in the Amazon rainforest.
So as the deadline approached, the
Titanic
star posted three posts - all written in Portuguese - on his Twitter account, followed by 19.6 million people, to encourage voter registration.
“Young people aged 16 and 17 have the power to help build the future of Brazil,”
he wrote in one, linking to a site with step-by-step instructions for register.
"To exercise this power, you must register to vote by 11:59 p.m. today."
Mark Ruffalo also took to social media, retweeting his 8 million followers short comic videos made by young Brazilians explaining how to register.
“Let’s get this campaign moving!
Democracy and the planet win,”
the actor and producer wrote on May 1.
In addition to Hollywood stars, artists across the country are raising their voices.
Legendary Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro and singer Anitta also encouraged young people to vote.
The latter told her nearly 17 million fans on Twitter that she discussed the issue at length with Leonardo DiCaprio at this week's Met Gala in New York, and that the actor knows more about the environment than Jair Bolsonaro.
Read alsoSinger Anitta blocks Brazilian President Bolsonaro on Twitter
"I'm glad you spoke to a Hollywood actor, Anitta, it's every teenager's dream,"
the president replied on Twitter.
“I talk to thousands of Brazilians every day.
They are not famous, but they are the compass of our decisions, because no one defends and knows Brazil better than its own people”
.
Jair Bolsonaro has also attacked Leonardo DiCaprio, whom he has accused in the past, without providing evidence, of financing non-profit groups which, according to him, are responsible for fires in the Amazon.
“DiCaprio should know that the president [of the World Trade Organization] herself said that without Brazilian agribusiness, the world would be hungry,”
the far-right president told a group of supporters, adding that the actor should
"shut up instead of talking nonsense"
.
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