Brazil Heads to Runoff as Flávio Bolsonaro Leads Lula in First Round
Brazil’s presidential election is heading to a runoff after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but fell short of an…
Brazil’s presidential contest now turns on a runoff, with consequences for Latin America’s largest democracy and its political direction. Brazil elections will go to a second round on October 25 after right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro led President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round but failed to win outright.
With 99.9% of votes counted, Bolsonaro had 47% and Lula 45.1%, according to results reported by The Guardian. Bolsonaro received 56.1 million votes to Lula’s 53.8 million. Neither candidate cleared the majority needed to avoid a second round.
The race remains open. But Bolsonaro enters the runoff with a lead and could draw support from voters who backed other right-wing candidates, including Ronaldo Caiado, who received 2.1%, and Renan Santos, who won 2.2%, The Guardian reported.
That makes the next campaign period decisive for both candidates. Lula must broaden his support, while Bolsonaro will seek to hold his first-round advantage as the two prepare for another direct contest.
Brazil elections deliver gains beyond the presidency
The presidential result came alongside strong performances by Bolsonaro-aligned politicians in congressional and state races. Jair Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, and his second son, Carlos Bolsonaro, won Senate seats, while his youngest son, Jair Renan Bolsonaro, was elected to the lower house of Congress.
Former infrastructure minister Tarcísio de Freitas was reelected governor of São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous and economically important state. Of the 54 senators elected, 34 came from the right or far right, according to The Guardian.
The Senate results matter beyond the family’s political reach. Bolsonaro supporters had made the chamber a priority because senators are the only lawmakers who can impeach Supreme Court justices, a demand among Bolsonaristas after the court jailed the former president for attempting a coup.
For voters, the contest is now about more than choosing a president: the composition of Congress and state governments will shape the political environment in which the next administration operates. The first-round results show a significant right-wing presence in those institutions, even as the presidential race remains unresolved.
Flávio Bolsonaro told supporters in Brasília that the result marked “the end of an era” for Lula’s Workers’ Party. He also drew a contrast between their priorities, saying: “Lula has fought seven presidential elections. He’s worried about power. I am worried about the future of Brazil.”
Lula says campaign will focus on policy differences
Speaking in São Paulo, Lula described the result as unexpected and acknowledged he had expected to win in the first round. “We have just had a lesson in Brazilian democracy,” the president said. He added: “But we have a second round.”
Lula said his campaign would now present a clearer contrast between the candidates’ proposals. “From tomorrow we will launch a new campaign: [and in] a campaign with only two candidates we will be able to show the difference between our proposals for Brazil,” he said.
The Guardian reported that Lula also argued Bolsonaro’s “dark past” would become clearer to voters before the runoff. Bolsonaro, meanwhile, is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup after refusing to accept his defeat in the previous election, according to the supplied reports.
The vote is also a measure of the political movement surrounding the former president. His family members’ wins and the right’s Senate strength give that movement a visible foothold even before voters decide the presidency.
Brazil’s nearly 159 million voters were also choosing state parliamentarians, 27 governors, 513 lower-house members and 54 senators, The Guardian reported. The presidential rematch is scheduled for October 25.
Source: theguardian.com
