Brazil election

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has maintained a lead on right-wing incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro for months, according to polls.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Bolsonaro minimized the threat of the coronavirus and pushed back against preventative measures like lockdowns and masks, and he has sought to brand himself as a [tough-on-crime](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/06/jair-bolosonaro-says-criminals-will-die-like-cockroaches-under-proposed-new-laws) and socially conservative leader. [nicknamed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/30/bolsonaro-trump-brazil-election-democracy/) the “Tropical Trump,” has often parallelled the former U.S. Bolsonaro was also one of few international leaders to [support](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210107-brazil-s-bolsonaro-backs-trump-fraud-claim-after-unrest) Trump’s false allegations of fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. Trump announced last month he was [backing](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-08/trump-endorses-bolsonaro-s-stalled-re-election-bid-in-brazil) Bolsonaro in his re-election bid, writing on Truth Social Bolsonaro has “done a GREAT job for the wonderful people of Brazil,” and that “when I was President of the U.S., there was no other country leader who called me more than Jair.” A former trade unionist, Lula served as president for two terms, and he grew popular as he oversaw a period of strong economic growth, though a [wide-ranging investigation](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33562055) into corruption and influence-peddling called “Operation Car Wash” began to look into him several years after he left office. If Lula wins, Brazil will be the latest Latin American nation whose voters have thrown their support behind leftist leaders: Chile elected 35-year-old Gabriel Boric last year, and Gustavo Petro was [elected](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/19/world/americas/gustavo-petro-colombia-presidential-election.html) to serve as Colombia’s first leftist president in June. [alleged](https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/07/brazil-lula/533445/) Lula received more than a million dollars in bribes—including in the form of a luxury apartment—in exchange for contracts with Brazilian construction giant OAS, a subcontractor to state energy company Petrobras, part of a broader investigation that Lula’s supporters argued was rigged. Results are expected within hours after the polls close at 4 p.m. [Lula leads polls as Brazil votes in tense presidential contest](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-votes-tense-lula-bolsonaro-presidential-contest-2022-10-02/) (Reuters) [What to Know About Brazil’s Election](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/world/americas/brazil-election-bolsonaro-lula.html) (New York Times) [Brazil polarised as Bolsonaro seeks re-election and Lula aims for comeback](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-63103323) (The BBC) ET (5 p.m. [platform](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/world/americas/brazil-election-bolsonaro-lula.html) of increasing taxes for the wealthy, raising the country’s minimum wage and bolstering social programs including monthly cash vouchers, while Bolsonaro has also pledged to offer cash programs for families in need, and has focused on tax cuts, abortion opposition and [addressing crime](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/02/brazil-ballot-military-police-election/). [advocated](https://www.npr.org/2022/10/01/1126161100/brazil-election-amazon-deforestation-forest-fires) for more mining, ranching and farming in the Brazilian Amazon, often drawing scorn from environmental groups, while Lula has pledged to [stop](https://grist.org/international/in-brazils-presidential-election-the-fate-of-the-amazon-is-at-stake/) illegal mining and fight against deforestation. [pushed](https://time.com/6218227/jair-bolsonaro-trump-brazil-election/) claims of election fraud without evidence and [suggested](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-bolsonaro-says-may-not-accept-2022-election-under-current-voting-system-2021-07-07/) on several occasions he may not concede if he loses, reinforcing those remarks Sunday in a video posted before he cast his vote, in which he said if the country has “clean elections,” he will win “with at least 60% of the votes,” according to [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-votes-tense-lula-bolsonaro-presidential-contest-2022-10-02/).

Brazil's national election authority on Sunday began reporting the initial results of the country's presidential election, in which leftist former President ...

With just 0.1% of voting machines counted, Lula had 51% of valid votes, compared to 37% for Bolsonaro, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reported on its website. If no candidate wins over half the votes, excluding blank and spoiled ballots, the top two will face off in a second-round vote on Oct. BRASILIA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's national election authority on Sunday began reporting the initial results of the country's presidential election, in which leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva aims to unseat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.

Latest updates: leftwing former president edges ahead in vote in world's fourth-largest democracy.

Two big Senate wins in the south of Brazil for Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. “We will most likely have a second round,” said Nara Pavão, who teaches political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco. Rio’s Bolsonaro-supporting governor Cláudio Castro was re-elected while one of Bolsonaro’s most controversial former ministers, the evangelical preacher Damares Alves, claimed a place in the senate. “I feel great hope that this election will be decided tomorrow, but if it isn’t we’ll have to behave like a football team when a match goes to extra time. “It’s a very disappointing night for the left.” “There was a feeling among the left that Lula had a chance to win in the first round ...

Jair Bolsonaro is standing for a second term against former president Lula. Find out how votes are coming in across Brazil.

In 2018, Bolsonaro won a second-round run-off against Fernando Haddad, the candidate of Lula’s Workers’ party. If this does not happen in the first round, the top two candidates will go into a runoff election at the end of the month. A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be elected.

Brazil's top two presidential candidates were neck-and-neck late Sunday in a highly polarized election that could determine if the country returns a leftist ...

He turned to politics after being forced out of the military for openly pushing to raise servicemen’s pay. “I didn’t like the scandals in his first administration, never voted for the Workers’ Party again. Da Silva’s own convictions for corruption and money laundering led to 19 months imprisonment, sidelining him from the 2018 presidential race that polls indicated he had been leading against Bolsonaro. Asked if he would respect results, he gave a thumbs up and walked away. While voting earlier Sunday, Marley Melo, a 53-year-old trader in capital Brasilia, sported the yellow of the Brazilian flag, which Bolsonaro and his supporters have coopted for demonstrations. Bolsonaro grew up in a lower-middle-class family before joining the army. Analysts fear he has laid the groundwork to reject results. “We will most likely have a second round,” said Nara Pavão, who teaches political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco. A slow economic recovery has yet to reach the poor, with 33 million Brazilians going hungry despite higher welfare payments. There are nine other candidates, but their support pales to that for Bolsonaro and da Silva. He said as recently as Sept. It interviewed 12,800 people, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

With 91.6% of votes counted, da Silva had 47.3%, ahead of Bolsonaro with 44.2% support, according to the electoral authority.

He turned to politics after being forced out of the military for openly pushing to raise servicemen’s pay. “I didn’t like the scandals in his first administration, never voted for the Workers’ Party again. Da Silva's own convictions for corruption and money laundering led to 19 months imprisonment, sidelining him from the 2018 presidential race that polls indicated he had been leading against Bolsonaro. While voting earlier Sunday, Marley Melo, a 53-year-old trader in capital Brasilia, sported the yellow of the Brazilian flag, which Bolsonaro and his supporters have coopted for demonstrations. Bolsonaro grew up in a lower-middle-class family before joining the army. Analysts fear he has laid the groundwork to reject results. Da Silva is credited with building an extensive social welfare program during his 2003-2010 tenure that helped lift tens of millions into the middle class. “We will most likely have a second round," said Nara Pavão, who teaches political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco. A slow economic recovery has yet to reach the poor, with 33 million Brazilians going hungry despite higher welfare payments. Since neither candidate received more than 50% of the valid votes, which exclude spoiled and blank ballots, a second round vote between them will be scheduled for Oct. With 97% of the votes tallied, da Silva had 47.9% support and Bolsonaro 43.6%. There are nine other candidates, but their support pales to that for Bolsonaro and da Silva.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the left-wing former president, won more votes than right-wing incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, but not enough to win outright ...

In the hours before the vote, he posted on his Twitter feed a video of former President Donald Trump urging people to vote for him. All this provided an opening for da Silva, who is now 76 and a survivor of throat cancer. Then, in a stunning turnaround, he was released on a technicality in 2019 and launched his campaign for the presidency — the sixth time he has run for the office. However, after leaving office he became ensnared in a wide-ranging corruption scandal that landed him in prison for a year and a half. Sunday's voting was largely peaceful after a contentious, sometimes violent campaign in which Brazil's democracy seemed to hang in the balance. In fact, da Silva trailed for much of the night before finally inching ahead and winning with about 47.9% of the vote, with about 97% of votes counted.

Neither presidential candidate got more than 50% of the overall vote, meaning they will face off on 30 October.

This is a drama which has been years in the making. Not surprisingly, that tension has filtered down into the streets. But with Mr Bolsonaro counting on the agricultural sector and agribusiness for votes and support, it is Lula who is the preferred choice of climate activists. During the nights before the vote, neighbours here in Rio could be heard shouting "Lula is a thief" and "Out with Bolsonaro" at each other. In the last TV debate before the vote, President Bolsonaro called Lula a thief, in reference to the corruption charges that put him in jail for 580 days before the conviction was annulled. For Lula - who could not run in the 2018 election because he was in prison after being convicted on corruption charges - this spells a remarkable comeback.

With 98.8% of he votes tallied on Sunday's election, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 48.1% support and incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro had ...

He turned to politics after being forced out of the military for openly pushing to raise servicemen's pay. Asked if he would respect results, he gave a thumbs up and walked away. "I didn't like the scandals in his first administration, never voted for the Workers' Party again. Da Silva's own convictions for corruption and money laundering led to 19 months imprisonment, sidelining him from the 2018 presidential race that polls indicated he had been leading against Bolsonaro. With 98.8% of the votes tallied on Sunday's election, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 48.1% support and incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro had 43.5% support. Bolsonaro grew up in a lower-middle-class family before joining the army. While voting earlier Sunday, Marley Melo, a 53-year-old trader in capital Brasilia, sported the yellow of the Brazilian flag, which Bolsonaro and his supporters have coopted for demonstrations. Israel's former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude for stronger bilateral relations and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also praised him. Analysts fear he has laid the groundwork to reject results. The last Datafolha survey published Saturday found a 50% to 36% advantage for da Silva among those who intended to vote. A slow economic recovery has yet to reach the poor, with 33 million Brazilians going hungry despite higher welfare payments. He said as recently as Sept.

Acrimonious election will go to a second round after the former president failed to secure a majority over Jair Bolsonaro.

“It’s a very disappointing night for the left.” “The campaign begins tomorrow.” “There was a feeling among the left that Lula had a chance to win in the first round ... “We all thought Lula would win easily.” “I’m disappointed,” said Kharine Gil, a 23-year-old university student. I’m confident that he will win.” A Federal Police investigation accused the far-right ideologue of making it difficult for environmental crimes to be investigated. It is time to go out onto the streets... “I feel great hope that this election will be decided tomorrow, but if it isn’t we’ll have to behave like a football team when a match goes to extra time. “But the results show we do not have the time to rest now. Bolsonaro, who significantly out-performed pollsters’s predictions and will be buoyed by the result, received 43.3%. Salles, meanwhile, was the Environment Minister who presided over a sharp rise in Amazonian deforestation.

Brazilians cast their votes on Sunday in the first round of their country's most polarized election in decades, with leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ...

Lula and Bolsonaro go head-to-head after a closer than expected first-round result.

There's everything to play for in this presidential race - and everything to lose if you're on the wrong side. In the run-up to this vote, Bolsonaro repeatedly said that the polls were a lie - and to many it looked like he was just a bad loser. "There's going to be beautiful blood spilled in this city," Alessandro Ferreira Soares, a parachutist, told me if Lula takes the presidency. "We are going to win the elections again, it's just a question of time." In the past few weeks, there had been a concerted effort by his supporters to try and encourage wavering voters to choose Lula, to end the Bolsonaro presidency promptly. The polls released a day before the elections had predicted a 14 percentage point gap between Lula and Bolsonaro.

Closer than expected result in first round of voting means Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro face runoff.

Comparing the prospect of a Bolsonaro defeat to Trump’s in the US, he said that both men would have lost “very narrowly, and mostly because of a freak cause (the pandemic) … The fact that the result now looks likely to be narrower than expected even if Lula wins “significantly increases the credibility of [the] “stolen elections” narrative among Bolsonaro supporters and thus the possibility of post-electoral violence,” Mudde wrote. Many in Brazil are fearful that Bolsonaro may stoke an anti-democratic mood among his supporters – though, perhaps scenting the possibility of a revival, he was noticeably quieter on his baseless fraud claims last night than he has recently been. A lot of people on the left have been frightened – one Lula supporter said to me on Saturday that it’s the first time in my life I’ve been scared to put a sticker on my car.” “People in the centre and on the centre right viewed this as an emergency election. [brutally murdered by a Bolsonaro supporter last month](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/15/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-political-violence-election), one of a string of violent attacks by supporters of a candidate who has demanded leftists “be eradicated from public life”. That is of global importance given the Amazon’s role as a store for carbon dioxide. [remembered by many in the country](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/05/brazilians-still-hold-great-affection-for-lula-despite-corruption-conviction) as an era of economic growth and declining inequality. On Sunday, he told reporters: “We want no more hatred, no more quarrelling, we want a country that lives in peace.” And progressives around the world were watching for an emphatic repudiation of Bolsonaro’s presidency that would signal that the forces of extremism were in retreat. “The mood among his opponents had been one of cautious optimism,” said Tom Phillips. At the very least, they hoped for a commanding margin and a sense of momentum going into a runoff between the two.

Brazil's high-stakes presidential vote on Sunday a first-round winner with the necessary majority for an outright win, setting up a tense two-man race later ...