RIO DE JANEIRO: After a divisive election, Brazil's top two presidential contenders will participate in a runoff vote to determine whether the country will elect a leftist to lead the world's fourth-largest democracy or a far-right - Will keep the drawer on the post. an additional four years.
Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro were tied with 43.6 percent of the vote, after counting 98 percent of the vote in Sunday's election. The result, according to the Electoral Authority of Brazil, was the voting between the two candidates in the second round to a mathematical certainty.
Nine other candidates were running, but their support was far less than that of Bolsonaro and da Silva. Since da Silva was projected to win the pre-election elections by a wide margin, the closeness of the election results surprised observers. In the most recent Datafolha poll, which was released on Saturday, those who planned to vote gave da Silva a 50 percent to 36 percent advantage.
With a 2 percentage point error margin, 12,800 people were interviewed. According to Nara Pavo, professor of political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco, "this tight gap between Lula and Bolsonaro was not predicted."
"It is too early to go too deep, but this election shows that Bolsonaro's victory in 2018 was no hiccups," said Carlos Melo, a professor of political science at Insper University in So Paulo.
Rafael Cortez, who manages political risk at consulting firm Tendencias Consultoria, claims Bolsonaro outperformed in the southeast of Brazil, which includes the populous states of So Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
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According to Cortez, "the elections didn't capture that growth." Bolsonaro's administration has been characterized by inflammatory speeches, his testing of democratic institutions, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has drawn widespread criticism, and the worst deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in 15 years.
But he has gained support by upholding conservative principles, rejecting political correctness, and portraying himself as the country's defender against leftist policies that he claims violate individual liberties and cause economic unrest. Huh.
In the Brazilian capital Brasilia, 53-year-old businessman Marle Melo wore the yellow color of the Brazilian flag - which Bolsonaro and his supporters had appropriated for protest - when casting his ballot on Sunday.
Melo said he was voting for Bolsonaro again because he lived up to his expectations and does not trust elections that indicate he is losing. "Votings can be rigged. They are members of organizations of all interests," he claimed.
Despite high welfare payments, 33 million Brazilians still go hungry as a result of the slow economic recovery. Brazil is considering a shift to the political left, joining many of its Latin American neighbors who are dealing with high inflation and a large population that does not qualify for formal employment.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly questioned the accuracy of electronic voting machines in Brazil, as well as polls on public opinion. Analysts worry they have set the stage for the findings to be dismissed.
Bolsonaro once claimed to have evidence of fraud, but never showed it, even after he was given a deadline by the electoral authority. He recently said on 18 September that something "unusual" must happen if he doesn't win in the first round.
Da Silva, 76, a former metallurgist who rose to the presidency after rising out of poverty, is credited with setting up a comprehensive social welfare program during his presidency from 2003 to 2010 that helped millions of people into the middle class. helped bring.
However, he is also remembered for his administration's involvement in significant corruption scandals, which involved both politicians and corporate executives.
According to polls, due to his own conviction for corruption and money laundering, which resulted in a 19-month sentence, da Silva was unable to compete in the 2018 presidential election against Bolsonaro. On the grounds that the judge was biased and had worked with the prosecution, the Supreme Court later overturned da Silva's sentence.
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Social activist Nadja Oliveira, 59, claimed she voted for da Silva in 2016 and even went to his rallies, but now supports Bolsonaro.
"Unfortunately, we were let down by the Workers' Party. It announced in Brasilia that it would be different. Some people, such as Marielva Pereira, are smarter. For the first time since 2002, she announced that she would support the former president.
"I never voted for the Workers' Party again because of the scandals in his first administration; I didn't like them. As a result of my belief that he was wrongfully imprisoned and the fact that Bolsonaro is such a lousy president, it makes everyone else look better, Pereira, 47, said, "I will now.
Speaking after casting his ballot in Sao Bernardo do Campo, the state's industrial centre and the location of his former union leadership, da Silva recalled being imprisoned and unable to cast his ballot four years prior.
Before enlisting in the army, Bolsonaro was raised in a lower-middle class family. After being discharged from the military for openly advocating for higher military pay, he entered politics. He frequently expressed nostalgia for the nation's two-decade military dictatorship during his seven terms as a fringe lawmaker in the lower house of Congress.
His outreach to the military has sparked worries that senior officers may support his potential rejection of the election results.
Bolsonaro urged Brazilians to vote for him in social media posts from right-leaning foreign politicians on Saturday, including former US President Donald Trump. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for fostering stronger bilateral ties.
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After the first round of voting on Sunday morning, Bolsonaro told the media that "clean elections must be respected" and that it would be the deciding factor. He gave a thumbs up when asked if he would respect the outcome and then turned to leave.
68-year-old Leda Wasem was certain that Bolsonaro would not simply win reelection. At a polling location in downtown Curitiba, a real estate agent wearing a national soccer team jersey claimed that there was only one possible reason for a da Silva victory: fraud. I'm not going to believe it. I don't see a single person who supports Lula anywhere I go or work, she complained.