Rio tells Obama and Olympics rivals: "Yes we can"

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Brazil's president took a leaf out of Barack Obama's electioneering manual to cast aside any lingering doubts about Rio's ability to stage the 2016 Olympic Games with an emphatic 'Yes we can' rallying cry on Thursday.

Mimicking the phrase used by President Obama as he was catapulted to the White House, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he was confident Rio would be named the first South American city to host the Summer Games when the International Olympic Committee votes in the Danish capital on Friday.

"This time we look at the world and say yes we can, we can do it," he said, adding the country's 'magical' financial growth and relatively shallow recession made it the standout candidate.

Obama is due to arrive in Copenhagen later on Thursday to lobby on behalf of Chicago, with Tokyo and Madrid the other bidding cities.

"The final word we want to take to the IOC members is that we want to talk about the future of Brazil and Rio," Lula told reporters.

"Brazil today is experiencing a much more favorable situation than many developed countries. Brazil is experiencing a magical moment in terms of growth."

While the United States, Japan, and Spain were hit hard by the crisis, Brazil got off relatively lightly and has rebounded this year after slipping into a brief recession.

Rio is banking on the country's healthy finances and improved international standing to sway voters.

"Brazil is the only country among the 10 largest economies not to have organized Olympics. We want to show that Brazil is in much better shape than other developed countries," said Lula. "The financial crisis hit us last and we got out of it first," he said.

"We do not have that complex of being second rate citizens any more," said Lula, a former steel worker, who enjoys a healthy popularity among his countrymen deep in his second term.

"Last month in Brazil we created 240,000 new jobs. There will be one million new jobs this year. These are the conditions we have to raise and show (to IOC members)," he said.

"Brazil has investment programs that are extraordinary until 2017. Only the infrastructure investments are at $359 billion."

Lula said the Games offered important legacy for the country and the continent tapping into South America's 180 million young people under the age of 18.

"The Games mean you have to open your country to the rest of the world. There is no price on that. It is priceless."

"For some countries the Games are just one more sports event. For us this is a unique opportunity to create a legacy for an immense number of young people (across South America) that will remain for decades to come," he said.

(Editing by Miles Evans)