Brazil votes in deeply polarised election pitting Lula against Bolsonaro

What the report says

Polls opened in Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday, with voters choosing between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, according to Al Jazeera. The contest is unfolding alongside votes for lawmakers, governors and senators, and about 160 million registered voters are eligible to participate.

Al Jazeera reported that Lula, of the Workers’ Party, is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term after previously serving from 2003 to 2010. Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party, is running on a platform centered on crime and insecurity, while also promising closer ties with the United States. Opinion polls before voting suggested a very tight race, with Lula holding only a small lead. If no candidate wins an outright majority of valid votes, the top two will advance to a runoff on October 25.

The campaign has been shaped by concerns over violence, corruption, the economy and healthcare, as well as debate over Brazil’s democratic institutions. Al Jazeera noted that the election comes after Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction over a coup plot tied to his 2022 loss to Lula, a case that has sharpened attention on the country’s political tensions. More broadly, the vote reflects a deep divide over Lula’s legacy of social programs and the Bolsonaro family’s criticism of Brazil’s post-dictatorship institutions.