Brazil votes as Lula seeks to overturn his first-round deficit
Brazilians began voting in the presidential runoff between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro cast his ballot in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning. Lula’s supporters are trying to bring first-round nonvoters to the polls, while the rivals offer different approaches to organised crime, public spending and relations with Washington.
Geopolitics··Night
Voting opens after the campaign’s final rallies
Brazil opened its presidential runoff on Sunday, with incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva facing senator Flávio Bolsonaro. The challenger cast his ballot at a polling station in Rio de Janeiro in the morning. He renewed his call for political change after arriving with his wife.[1], [2]
Lula, aged 80, is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive presidential term. Bolsonaro is 45 and is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The candidates reached this ballot after the first round, in which the senator finished ahead of the incumbent.[1]
Lula’s supporters seek out first-round nonvoters
Lula’s supporters have tried to raise turnout after 33 million people did not vote in the first round. Large rallies accompanied that effort. At Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach on Saturday, Lula presented the contest as a question of sovereignty and defended Brazil’s independence in its relations with Washington.[1]
His administration has accused the United States of interfering in the election. Washington has rejected that allegation as baseless. Lula’s Workers’ Party has also made Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction for a post-election coup plot central to its warnings about democratic institutions.[1]
Bolsonaro campaigns on security and spending cuts
Bolsonaro has promised a tougher crackdown on organised crime, lower taxes and cuts in public spending. He held his final rally in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. He argues that cooperation with Washington against powerful criminal organisations could restore state authority in places where gangs exert influence.[1]
The senator has also pledged to secure his father’s release. Jair Bolsonaro is serving his coup-plot sentence under house arrest on health grounds. Lula planned to follow the evening’s results from São Paulo, while his opponent planned to be in Brasília.[1]
