Brazil's presidential runoff between leftwing incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and senator Flávio Bolsonaro heads to a decisive second round of voting on Sunday, after neither candidate secured more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round.
Bolsonaro's Surprise First-Round Victory
Bolsonaro, the eldest son of disgraced ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, pulled off a surprise first-round victory, signaling a resurgence of the far-right in Brazil. In the first-round election earlier this month, Bolsonaro secured 47% of the vote, compared with Lula’s 45%.
Polls appeared to have narrowed a few days before Sunday’s vote, with a Quaest poll reported by Reuters showing Bolsonaro on 45% of the vote, with Lula on 44%. A week earlier, Bolsonaro had 46% of the vote, compared to Lula’s 44%.
A Test for Incumbent Lula
Sunday’s election is a test for incumbent president Lula: can he rally enough support to overturn Bolsonaro’s lead? The outcome will decide the direction of the nation, with voters choosing between Lula's leftwing platform and Bolsonaro's far-right agenda.
