Far-right incumbents Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came very close in Brazil’s presidential election sprint with 90.7 percent of the votes counted. The election prompted the incumbent to vow to defend conservative Christian values against a left-wing former president promising to return the country to a more prosperous past.
Da Silva had 50.5% of the vote, compared with 49.5% for Bolsonaro, according to the country’s electoral body.
Polls close at 5pm local time (4pm EDT) nationwide. Because voting is conducted electronically, initial results are available quickly and final results are usually available within a few hours.
Bolsonaro was in the lead throughout the first half of the tally and as soon as da Silva passed him, cars on the streets of downtown Sao Paulo started honking. People on the streets of Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood could be heard shouting, “It’s spinning!”
At da Silva’s headquarters in downtown Sao Paulo, those present did not celebrate until a respected voter, Datafolha, predicted that he had won; then they broke out in cheers. Election authorities have yet to confirm the winner.
In the first round of voting, on October 2, the first half of the votes were similarly tallied showing Bolsonaro leading, with da Silva leading after votes from his strongholds were counted. . Both men are popular, divisive political figures who stir passion to the point of disgust.
The vote will determine whether the world’s fourth-largest democracy stays true to its far-right political line or sends a leftist back to the top job – and in the latter case, whether Bolsonaro accepts defeat. fail or not. There are numerous reports of what critics say have emerged efforts to prevent voter turnout among likely voters in favor of da Silva, who was president from 2003-2010.
Polling stations in the capital Brasilia were crowded in the morning, and at one of them, retired government employee Luiz Carlos Gomes said he would vote for da Silva.
“He is the best person for the poor, especially in the countryside,” said Gomes, 65, from the poor northeastern state of Maranhao. “We always starve to death before him.”
Most opinion polls ahead of the election favor da Silva, more commonly known as Lula, although political analysts agree the race has grown increasingly tight in recent weeks.
For months, it seemed da Silva was headed for an easy victory as he nostalgic for his presidency, when Brazil’s economy was booming and welfare helped tens of millions of people join the middle class. save.
But while da Silva topped the October 2 first-round election with 48 percent of the vote, Bolsonaro was second with 43 percent, showing opinion polls significantly underestimated popularity. his voice. Many Brazilians support Bolsonaro’s defense of conservative social values, and he has bolstered support with massive government spending.
Candidates in Brazil who top the first round tend to win the flow. But political scientist Rodrigo Prando said the campaign was so atypical that a Bolsonaro victory could not be ruled out.
More than 150 million Brazilians were eligible to vote, but about 20% of voters abstained in the first round. Both da Silva and Bolsonaro have focused their efforts on boosting voter turnout. Elections have banned any federal highway police activity that affects voters traveling on public transportation.
However, there are still many reports of checkpoints and traffic stops. The Globo TV network covered more than 500 stops, half of which were in the northeast, a stronghold of the Workers’ Party. The party filed a request for the arrest of the highway police chief and asked that the polls of the area remain open after that.
Speaking to reporters in Brasilia, the president of the electoral agency Alexandre de Moraes said the director of the police force provided information that made it clear that without a stoppage lasting more than 15 minutes, voter turnout was low. affected and the voting will close at 5 p.m., as scheduled.
Bolsonaro was the first to vote at a military complex in Rio de Janeiro. He sports the green and yellow colors of the Brazilian flag which have always been prominent features of his rallies.
“I expect our victory, for the sake of Brazil,” he told reporters afterward. “God willing, we will win this afternoon. In fact, Brazil will win.”
Da Silva voted Sunday morning in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a city outside Sao Paulo where he has lived for decades and began his political career as a union leader. . He wears white, as he often wears on campaign, instead of his party’s traditional red.
“Today we are choosing the kind of Brazil that we want, how we want our society to be organized. People will decide what kind of life they want,” da Silva told reporters. “That’s why this is the most important day of my life. I believe that Brazilians will vote for a plan in which democracy wins.”
The candidates have made several proposals for the future of the country beyond insisting they will continue a major welfare program for the poor, despite very limited financial future. They turned against each other and launched online smear campaigns – with significantly more attacks coming from Bolsonaro’s camp.
Ahead of the election, Bolsonaro shared a video on Twitter of former US President Donald Trump endorsing him, saying he had secured Brazil’s respect on the world stage. Da Silva has been particularly critical of Bolsonaro for the nation’s declining stature abroad, highlighting the scarcity of state visits and bilateral meetings.
“Don’t lose him, don’t let it happen,” Trump said in the video. “It won’t be good for your country. I love your country, but it won’t be good. So go out and vote for President Bolsonaro. He’s doing a job that few people can do. Okay.”
His four years in office were marked by proclaimed conservatism and defense of traditional Christian values. He claimed that his opponent’s return to power would usher in communism, legalization of drugs, abortion and church persecution – things that had not happened during Da’s previous eight years in power. Silva.
On Sunday, Livia Correia and her husband, Pedro, took their two young children to a polling station in Rio’s Copacabana neighborhood, where Bolsonaro supporters regularly demonstrate. They all wear green and yellow shirts. Livia, 36, said she voted for Bolsonaro because he defended the things she holds dear: “family values, God and freedom of speech.”
Da Silva has supported Bolsonaro’s widely criticized handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said the president has failed to take care of the most needed members of society. And he painted Bolsonaro as an opponent of the Amazon rainforest, for he has defamed environmental regulators and presided over increased deforestation.
But for many, da Silva’s Workers’ Party record is equally astounding. An extensive investigation has revealed the party’s involvement in major corruption scandals that have spooked politicians and top executives.
Da Silva himself was sentenced to 19 months in prison for corruption and money laundering. The Supreme Court quashed his convictions in 2019, citing his bias and collusion with prosecutors. That hasn’t stopped Bolsonaro from reminding voters of convictions.
The president’s immense digital mobilization has been on display in recent days as his campaign has made new – and unproven – claims about the possibility of election manipulation. That raised concerns that Bolsonaro could challenge the election results if he loses – just like Trump, whom he admires.
For months, he claimed that the nation’s electronic voting machines were vulnerable to fraud, even though he never presented proof, even after the election authority set a deadline for him to do so. so.
More recently, the allegations focused on airtime for political ads. Bolsonaro’s campaign argues that radio stations may have hurt their candidates by not broadcasting more than 150,000 polling stations.
“If da Silva wins, we will be in trouble,” said Pedro Correia, 40, who traveled with his wife and two children to Copacabana.
“There’s no way he won,” he said.
