letter from Brazil
A deeply divided Brazil is going to the polls to choose its future president – hopefully putting an end to a combative campaign between two candidates: Jair Messias Bolsonaro (67) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (76).
Lula entered the first round as the favourite, with opinion polls indicating a dominant lead in the first round. But the strength of Bolsonaro’s support and the close result dashed expectations of a quick resolution to the deep polarisation in the world’s fourth-largest democracy. The run-off between them takes place on Sunday October 30.
Bolsonaro challenged the results that showed his loss to Lula in the first round, arguing that they did not capture the enthusiasm of the population he observed throughout the campaign. Despite the gap of five percentage points to the first-placed Lula, Bolsonaro’s strength swelled in the second round, along with his party which gained significant influence in Congress this election, winning 19 of the 27 seats up for grabs in the Senate, and building on a strong base in the Chamber of Deputies.
