Lula and Bolsonaro are the two biggest names in Brazilian politics, on the left and right, and this campaign has polarised Brazil yet again: with themes of sovereignty, crime, the economy and corruption being top concerns for voters.
Lula is more popular in Brazil’s poorer northeast, among low-income voters, Catholics, and women.
He is seeking a fourth term in office, after being elected in 2002, 2006 and then a later non-consecutive term in 2022. In that election, he beat Jair Bolsonaro by less than 2% of the vote, the closest presidential election result in Brazil’s history.
After that election, Bolsonaro’s supporters vandalised government buildings on 8 January 2023.
Jair Bolsonaro was banned from running for re-election even before his prison sentence, but endorsed his eldest son Flávio to run in his place. Jair Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle, was elected to the Senate on Sunday.
Flávio Bolsonaro has pledged to grant his father, and his supporters responsible for the 8 January riots, amnesty if elected.
He is more popular in the south, and among wealthier voters and evangelical Christians.
Bolsonaro said on Sunday he was “very happy” to have led Lula in the first-round vote, and expressed confidence that he would clinch a run-off victory in three weeks’ time.
“I am very happy with the real possibility that, three weeks from now, Brazil will give a definitive answer by choosing a modern government,” he said, according to AFP.
Lula said the outcome of the vote was “unexpected”, but insisted the race was not over.
“I admit I was convinced I would win in the first round,” he said on Sunday. “The game is about to start. We are in extra time. In extra time, we will win over the Brazilian people.”
