The polls said Lula. The voters said not so fast. Right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election Sunday with 47.03% of valid votes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 45.16%, according to Superior Electoral Court data reported by Agência Brasil. Nobody hit 50%, so it’s a runoff on October 25.
Flávio is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup after losing the 2022 election, the BBC reports. Lula had polled slightly ahead during the campaign; the BBC says Bolsonaro’s beat-the-odds showing makes round two “his to lose,” since several knocked-out candidates were right-wingers. His Liberal Party also elected the most governors, senators and federal deputies in results so far.
Lula, 80, didn’t sugarcoat it. “I admit I was convinced I would win in the first round,” he said. “The game is about to start. We are in extra time. In extra time, we will win over the Brazilian people.” He then went after his rival’s “shadowy background,” citing alleged ties to militias and organized crime, per Agência Brasil.
Bolsonaro, 45, took a victory lap: “Nearly 56 million Brazilians… cast their vote of confidence in change,” he said, promising “a modern government, with fewer ministries” that would appoint at least four Supreme Court justices — and vowing he’d serve only one term. He has also pledged amnesty for his father and the January 8 rioters if elected, the BBC notes.
The stakes go way past Brasília. Most of Latin America has already elected right-wing, Trump-aligned presidents, and the BBC says a Bolsonaro win would likely pull Brazil into the U.S.-led “Shield of Americas” anti-narco coalition. Three weeks, two dynasties, one very polarized country.
Sources: BBC News · Agência Brasil
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