Voters across Brazil cast ballots on Sunday in the first round of a presidential race between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, with a runoff set for Oct. 25 if no one passes 50 percent.
Brazilians voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that pits 80-year-old President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against 45-year-old Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Reuters reported from Brasilia and Sao Paulo that the campaign has been shaped by corruption scandals, economic anxiety and accusations of U.S. meddling.
If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of valid votes, the top two advance to a runoff on Oct. 25. Reuters said surveys show Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro roughly even in a likely second round, while other candidates including former governors Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema have struggled to break the polarized field.
Voters are also choosing all 513 members of the Chamber of Deputies and two-thirds of the Senate. Reuters noted that both leading candidates skipped major television debates and that each is rejected by roughly half of voters in polling.
A win for the senator would extend a series of right-wing victories in Latin America aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters wrote, while a Lula reelection could complicate relations with Washington after clashes over trade and security. The next government faces high public debt and a weak growth outlook, the same report said.
Polling stations were scheduled to operate through Sunday afternoon local time. Official first-round results had not been declared in the reports used for this brief.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Lula told supporters the vote was a choice between democracy and barbarism, Al Jazeera reported from his Saturday close.
- Flavio Bolsonaro said he was convinced the race could be won in the first round, Reuters reported.