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Brazil’s highly contested presidential election will go to a runoff on October 30, with incumbent Jair Bolsonaro finishing a close second to front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. According to the Superior Electoral Tribunal, Lula, the veteran leftist seeking a presidential return, received 48.4 percent of the vote to 43.2 percent for the far-right president, with more than 99 percent of polling station results. It was a surprisingly high victory for the aggressive ex-army captain Bolsonaro – and for Brazil’s far-right, which also made unexpectedly strong showings in a number of critical Congressional and governorship races.
Lula, Brazil’s popular but tarnished ex-president who ran the country from 2003 to 2010, was considered the favorite to win the contest in a single round.
On the night of the election, major polling firm Datafolha predicted Lula would receive 50% of the vote, with Bolsonaro receiving 36%.
To win in the first round, a candidate needed to receive more than 50% of the vote.
Instead, Bolsonaro, 67, and Lula, 76, will engage in a four-week fight to the death.
Bolsonaro declared the outcome a victory. “We beat the falsehood today,” he said to reporters, referring to pre-election polls. “Now that the campaign is ours, I’m fully confident. We have a lot of good things to show for ourselves.”
‘What is going on in Brazil?’
In a speech to hundreds of supporters dressed out in Workers’ Party red on Sao Paulo’s main boulevard, Lula encouraged his disheartened supporters, declaring, “We are going to win these elections.”
“We’re going to keep battling until we win,” he stated.
However, the outcome fell short of expectations for his supporters, who were left expecting an unpleasant race.
“It’s going to be a rough campaign,” said Lula supporter Viviane Laureano da Silva, who had gathered with hundreds of other supporters in central Rio de Janeiro for what they anticipated would be a first-round win celebration.
“But Lula will triumph. I’m from the slums, and I’ve seen how much support he has there “explained the government servant, 36 years old.
“I’m not sure what’s going on in Brazil. Our populace is unwell in 50% of cases. “Only Lula can heal our people,” said Jose Antonio Benedetto, 63, who was carrying a banner that said, “Love and truth will triumph.” “in So Paulo
Muscles on the far-right flex
Lula, an ex-metalworker who rose from dire poverty to become Brazil’s most popular president, is attempting a comeback after falling dramatically from grace and spending 18 months in jail.
Convicted in a huge graft scheme involving the state-owned oil corporation Petrobras, he recovered the ability to run for politics last year when his convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court.
Bolsonaro, who was elected in 2018 on a wave of anti-establishment indignation, has lost support from the political center due to his combative political style, poor economic performance, rampant Amazon rainforest devastation, and the slaughter of Covid-19.
