Brazilians flock to the streets in nationwide protests against far-right candidate(UPDATE 2)

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Brazil's major cities on Saturday in women-led protests against far-right presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro, who flew home after weeks in hospital recovering from a near-fatal stab wound.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Brazil's major cities on Saturday in women-led protests against far-right presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro, who flew home after weeks in the hospital recovering from a near-fatal stab wound.

Angered by Bolsonaro's history of making offensive comments, which includes making light of rape and calling the gender pay gap justified, female protesters have used the hashtag #EleNao, or #NotHim, to drum up support for a series of international protests against the former army captain.

Flag-waving protestors flocked to downtown Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo on Saturday, pouring out of subway trains and into the streets while chanting in unison against a polarizing candidate who has led polls for months ahead of the Oct. 7 election, the most polarizing in a generation.

"I could never be friends with someone who supports a person (like Bolsonaro), who is racist, homophobic and a misogynist," said Tassia Casseli, who was at the Sao Paulo march.

Bolsonaro nearly died from a stab wound earlier this month and has been confined to Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital ever since. He was discharged on Saturday morning and flew to Rio, where he has served as a federal congressman for nearly three decades, in the afternoon.

In a telling sign of the divisive nature of the election, videos uploaded to social media from Bolsonaro's commercial flight back to Rio showed some of his fellow passengers clapping and chanting "Legend" when he boarded, while others booed.

A former army officer who has voiced admiration for Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, Bolsonaro has won over many with his hard-line stance on crime, unvarnished rhetoric, and a career that has been largely free of corruption accusations.

Yet he has also repelled many with comments widely considered sexist, misogynist, and homophobic.

Saturday's demonstrations took place in cities from Manaus in the Amazon jungle to bustling Sao Paulo in the southeast. But there were also rival protests in support of the right-winger across the country.

"I never heard him say anything wrong about women," said Alessandra Sampaio, 39, at a pro-Bolsonaro rally in Rio de Janeiro. "He's against rape, drugs and in favour of the family. I have two daughters and want the best for them."

Bolsonaro stirred fresh controversy on Friday night when he said in a media interview that he would not accept the result of next month's election if he loses, adding that he could not "speak for the armed forces commanders."

Bolsonaro's relative lack of support among women could spell trouble for a candidate who has become investors' favourite after embracing free-market policies on the campaign trail.

His biggest rival and likely opponent in an expected Oct. 28 runoff are the leftist candidates and former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad.

Haddad is running for the Workers Party, whose jailed founder, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was barred by a corruption conviction. Haddad has surged in recent polls with support from the working class and voters who cannot stomach Bolsonaro.

According to a recent survey by pollster Ibope, 18 per cent of women plan to vote for Bolsonaro in the Oct. 7 first round, versus 36 per cent of men. In an Oct. 28 second round scenario, among those who expressed a preference, women favoured Haddad over Bolsonaro by 47 to 30 per cent. Among men, 47 per cent favoured Bolsonaro versus 37 per cent for Haddad.