Brazil will go to the ballot in October, Lula takes advantage of Bolsonaro in the first round of polarized elections

Brazil’s presidential elections will be decided in a runoff election on October 30 between right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the national electoral authority said on Sunday.

With 99.18% of the voting machines counted, Lula had 48.24% of the valid votes, compared to 43.36% for Bolsonaro, according to data released by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

Sunday’s result leaves a first-round win out of reach.

Brazil has more than 150 million possible voters and voting is mandatory, but as expected, the abstention rate is higher than 20%, according to the official results.

According to the electoral rules of Brazil, a second round is required when no candidate obtains more than 50% of the valid votes.

Lula

Lula, 76, voted in the state of Sao Paulo, where he was a metalworker and union leader. He rose from poverty to become president and is credited with creating a massive entitlement program during his 2003-2010 term that helped bring tens of millions of people into the middle class.

But he is also remembered for his government’s involvement in wide-ranging corruption scandals involving politicians and business executives.

Lula’s own convictions for corruption and money laundering earned him 19 months in prison and kept him out of the 2018 presidential campaign, which polls show he was leading against Bolsonaro. The Supreme Court later overturned Lula’s conviction on the grounds that the judge had not been impartial and conspired with the prosecution.

The latest Datafolha poll published on Saturday showed that 50% of those consulted who planned to vote said they would opt for Lula, compared to 36% for Bolsonaro. The firm interviewed 12,800 people, with a margin of error of plus/minus 2 percentage points.

Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro grew up in a humble family before joining the army. He later entered politics after he was expelled from the army because of his explicit pressure to raise the military’s salary. During his seven terms as a minority parliamentarian in the lower house of Congress, he often expressed his nostalgia for the two decades of military dictatorship in the country.

His gestures to the armed forces have raised concerns that his possible rejection of the election results may be supported by high-ranking officials.

After voting in Rio de Janeiro and wearing a shirt with the colors of the Brazilian flag, Bolsonaro told reporters that fair elections must be respected and that the first round will be decisive. When asked if he would respect the results, he gave a thumbs up and left.

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