Right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro finished ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s election in which neither scored a majority, sending the tight race to a run-off in three weeks.
In a surprise result that defied opinion poll projections showing Lula in the lead, Flavio Bolsonaro scored 47% of the vote to the incumbent’s 45%. If Bolsonaro triumphs in the October 25 election, the Latin American powerhouse will join a steady rightward march in the region in recent elections, a trend championed by US President Donald Trump.
The election results included a series of landslide wins for the right in parliament in a massive setback to Lula, who at almost 81 is seeking a fourth term in office to cement his legacy. “I admit I was convinced I would win in the first round. The game is about to start. In extra time, we will win over the Brazilian people,”
the 80-year-old said. “I’m very good at knockout stages.”
The veteran leftist has branded the election a battle between democracy and “barbarism,” warning voters that Brazil’s sovereignty was at stake in the face of US pressure.
Flavio Bolsonaro was a little-known senator a few months ago when his father anointed him his political heir, unable to run himself as he serves a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup after losing a 2022 election bid.
However, his father’s powerful name won over the country’s conservative base and he slid past Lula despite a campaign marked by scandals and mudslinging.
“I am truly happy with the result,” Flavio Bolsonaro said after results came through, hailing the “very real possibility” of a run-off victory.
Voters in the deeply polarised nation were jaded by familiar choices, and few voted with conviction.