Brazil voters go to the polls in the presidential election – National

Brazilians began voting in Sunday’s polarizing presidential election between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, a contest that will determine whether the United States will significantly expand its growing influence in Latin America.

Polls ahead of the vote showed the two candidates needing more than 50 percent of the vote to become Brazil’s next leader in January, in a neck-and-neck race. The election pits left-of-center veteran politician Lula against Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump and the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Flávio Bolsonaro beat Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round of the election earlier this month. However, more than 33 million voters out of almost 160 million were not present, even though the election is mandatory.

The difference between the two candidates is stark. Bolsonaro and Lula have opposing ideological views on issues ranging from US-Brazil relations and climate change to social welfare.

A victory for Bolsonaro would mean a pivot to the right of Latin America’s most populous country and its largest economy, in a year when Trump allies won victories in Chile, Peru and Colombia.

A victory for Lula would leave Brazil and Mexico, which is the second most popular country in the region and led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, with left-of-center leaders.

In many ways, Brazil’s vote resembles a rematch between the country’s two polarized political forces, sparking passion as much as loathing. Four years ago, Lula beat Bolsonaro’s father by the narrowest margin since the country returned to democracy in 1985. Polls suggest this election will be even closer.

Safety and cost of living concerns

Lula, who first ruled the country between 2003 and 2010, faced a tough re-election campaign amid concerns about the cost of living and security. Bolsonaro has made a tough-on-crime approach the cornerstone of his campaign and has pledged to lower food costs.

Both have been hit by corruption allegations involving family members and allies, with Bolsonaro embroiled in a widespread scandal rocking Brazil. Lula spent more than a year in prison on corruption convictions, which were eventually overturned.

Bolsonaro’s admission that he accepted about US$12 million from disgraced former banker Daniel Vorcaro to produce a film about his father’s life has cast a shadow over his campaign. He is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in connection with the case.

When Bolsonaro voted at a school in Rio de Janeiro around 8 a.m., his supporters chanted “Lula, thief, your place is in prison,” while Lula’s supporters chanted in his support.

“The time of real change has arrived,” Bolsonaro told journalists. “Brazil cannot continue on its current trajectory for another four years.”

Fabianne Borges Santoro, a 45-year-old physiotherapist in Rio de Janeiro, once voted for Lula’s party but is now linked to corruption.

“The Labor Party has been in power for a long time and the voice of the people says we need change to see improvements in safety and the cost of living,” she said.

In the run-up to the vote, Lula often portrayed Bolsonaro, whose father is under house arrest for attempting a coup, as a threat to democracy. Bolsonaro has promised to seek an amnesty for his father if elected.

The next president will name at least three Supreme Court justices out of 11 in his next term due to future retirements. Bolsonaro has long taken to the country’s Supreme Court – which has been rocked by a corruption scandal – and vowed to push for judicial reform.

Lula, trying to attract undecided voters, has invested in expensive incentives since he lost the first round of voting. His government’s latest moves are a debt relief program to support small businesses and promise free public transport on weekends. A victory for the incumbent came with the Senate’s approval of the end of the six-day work week – a popular proposal supported by the government.

He thanked his voters for their support in recent days when he voted in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo, where he began his political career as a union leader in the 1960s.

“It’s a lot of generosity, a lot of care, a lot of love. I will be forever grateful,” Lula said.

“Lula is a man of the people and he knows what it’s like to be poor,” said Luzia da Souza, who runs a bar in a middle-class neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. “I find it impossible not to vote for him.”

The Trump administration loomed large

Lula criticized the US president before Brazil’s elections, spoke about the risks of US intervention in Brazilian elections after the Trump administration imposed high tariffs against Brazilian exports, sanctioned a Supreme Court that presided over the investigation that led to the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro and classified drug trafficking groups as foreign say the terrorist organizations foreign say the terrorist organizations are soft.

Flávio Bolsonaro announced his proximity to the White House and insisted that Brazil must make better deals with the Trump administration, including the rare mineral economy. Brazil estimates that its deposits hold up to 21 million tons, second only to China. He denies that he is being helped by the US government.

The election in Brazil is conducted electronically and the result is usually within hours after the polling stations close at 17:00 in Brasilia.

-Savarese reports from Sao Paulo.

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