In a tense election on Sunday, Brazilian voters will decide whether to re-elect far-right President Jair Bolsonaro or to put former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva back in office.
Both candidates have a second chance because of the close race.
After a presidency tainted by the pandemic, Bolsonaro has vowed to consolidate a sharp conservative turn in Brazilian politics. Recalling the rising prosperity of his 2003–2010 presidency, before corruption scandals tarnished his Workers Party, Lula pledges greater social and environmental responsibility.
There is concern that Bolsonaro might not concede defeat, following the lead of his ideological ally, former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticised electronic voting machines as being susceptible to fraud without providing any evidence.
That has heightened tensions in Brazil’s most divisive election since it returned to democracy in 1985 following a military dictatorship that Bolsonaro, a former army captain, invokes with nostalgia and Lula, a former union leader, rallied against.
Post Your Comments