The competition in Brazil's presidential election between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the current leftist president, and Flávio Bolsonaro, his right-wing opponent, has gone to a second round. According to preliminary statistics from Brazil's electoral authority, after counting 97 percent of the votes, Lula received about 44.6 percent and Bolsonaro 47.4 percent of the votes, indicating that neither achieved the absolute majority needed to win in the first round.
Second Round of Elections and Candidates' Backgrounds
Since neither candidate obtained more than 50 percent of the valid votes, the two leading candidates will face each other in the second round on October 25. In the initial stages of counting the votes, Bolsonaro initially held over 50 percent of the votes, but the southern states, which lean more towards him, announced their results faster. Meanwhile, the counting of votes in the northeast, Lula's main stronghold, progressed more slowly.
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Lula, the leftist politician who is now 80 years old, is seeking his fourth presidential term. Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, is also trying to continue the legacy of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, the former president. While Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup and is under house arrest, the Bolsonaro family considers him a political prisoner.
Results and Implications
Bolsonaro's impressive result was surprising, as pre-election polls showed Lula about three percent ahead of his opponent. Lula acknowledged that the result was unexpected for him. The current president of Brazil said, "I was confident that I would win the election in the first round" and added that he would start a new campaign on Tuesday, October 6.
The Brazilian elections are considered a decisive choice for the political direction of the country. Bolsonaro's victory would further strengthen the rightward shift in Latin America. In recent years, several countries have noticeably leaned to the right following elections. In contrast, Lula's victory would ensure that Brazil remains one of the major leftist strongholds in the region alongside Mexico.
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