First modification:
Brazil will go to the second round on October 30 to define who will be its new president. Election day in Brazil passed quietly, without major incidents and reflected a common phenomenon in Latin America: the confrontation between the left and the right. A phenomenon that will be seen again in the ballot when the two-time president, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, and the current president, Jair Bolsonaro, dispute the presidential seat in the Planalto Palace.
With 99.99% of the votes counted, according to figures presented by the Superior Electoral Court, Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva led the vote with 48.43%, that is, 57,258,115 votes. In second place was the current president Jair Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party, with 43.20%, which represents 51,071,277 votes.
Bolsonaro’s performance at the polls was better than the polls predicted. Precisely, the polls were the big losers of the day by failing to get their analysis of the president right -with ‘Lula’ they did adjust the forecast well. The voting trend by region made even more evident the polarization that Brazil is experiencing, also marked in the types of candidates that were elected for the second round.
Beyond the presidential election, in Brazil the election of state governors, deputies, a third of the Senate and Regional Legislative Assemblies were also at stake.
The question that is haunting the minds of many Brazilians now is ‘Lula’ or Bolsonaro? Who to vote for? How will the burden of the candidates who stayed in the first round be distributed? Which segment of society will be definitive? How will Congress be formed? We analyze it in this edition of El Debate together with our guests:
– Leonardo Paz Neves, analyst at the Intelligence Unit of the Getulio Vargas Foundation and professor at the Department of International Relations at Ibmec College.
– Juliana Colussi, journalist and professor of the Journalism and Public Opinion Program at Universidad del Rosario.
