The first round of presidential elections in Brazil has ended: Lula versus Bolsonaro's son

Voting has ended in the first round of the presidential election in Brazil. The country's current president, 80-year-old leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, better known as “Lula,” is trying to retake the position. He is opposed by 11 candidates, the most famous of whom is right-wing politician Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted ex-President Jair Bolsonaro.

In the previous election, four years ago, Lula narrowly defeated Jair Bolsonaro.

After this, thousands of supporters of the losing president stormed the Brazilian parliament, and then Bolsonaro was found guilty of attempting a coup and sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Who's not on the ballot?

Since 71-year-old Jair Bolsonaro, who ruled Brazil from 2019 to 2023, is serving a prison sentence, he is not participating in the elections. Due to constant health problems, the politician is not in prison, but under house arrest. At the same time, he is prohibited from making public statements and posts on social networks.

But his image takes part in the elections - both metaphorically and physically. During a rally to mark the launch of Flavio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign, the candidate was "supported" by an AI-generated figure of his father.

When a deepfake lawsuit was filed in the country's Supreme Court, Flavio Bolsonaro's lawyers denied that his father had authorized the use of his image. But no one doubts that he supports his son's candidacy.

Although 12 candidates are participating in the elections, opinion polls showed that only Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro had ratings of more than 10%. The BBC's Portuguese-language service BBC Brazil reported that support for both politicians remained at around 40%, with Lula slightly ahead of his main opponent.

If no candidate receives 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two votes will advance to a runoff, which could take place on October 25.

In Brazil, all citizens of the country over the age of 16 have the right to vote, and for those who have already turned 18 and have not yet turned 71, voting in elections is mandatory (violators of this norm will face a fine).

About 160 million Brazilians can vote in elections.

What does Lula stand for?

Lula, 80, a member of the leftist Workers' Party, has already been president three times, also serving two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2010.

During his time as president, many credit him with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty through a cash transfer program known as Bolsa Família.

Before being elected president, he was a worker at a metallurgical plant, and when he left office, his approval rating exceeded 80%.

At the same time, Lula's party has experienced several extremely serious corruption scandals. The president himself spent a year and a half in prison (from 2018 to 2019) when he was found guilty of corruption and money laundering; he himself always denied these accusations.

The convictions were annulled in 2021, allowing Lula to run for president again in 2022. As a result, he defeated Bolsonaro by 1.8 percentage points.

At the beginning of his third presidential term, he promised that he would no longer take part in elections. However, his party nominated Lula for president again, even though he will turn 81 in October.

Although Lula's supporters call him the "savior of the Amazon" for his commitment to protecting the rainforest, some activists have criticized the president's conservation policies. In particular, their dissatisfaction was caused by the recent approval of exploratory oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon.

Lula insists he remains committed to weaning himself off fossil fuels over time, but believes Brazil needs oil revenues to finance its transition to renewable energy.

His government also notes that for the first time since 2026, deforestation in the Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in a decade.

During Lula's last term, he also had a tense relationship with US President Donald Trump. The President of Brazil criticized the so-called “Donro Doctrine”, which assumes US dominance in the Western Hemisphere. He insisted that "Brazil doesn't fit in anyone's backyard."

What does Jair Bolsonaro promise?

Jair Bolsonaro, 45, is the eldest son of the former Brazilian president and has been a senator since 2019.

Bolsonaro Jr. is running for president from the right-wing Liberal Party. Flavio is considered not as radical as his father, but the candidate appeals to approximately the same electoral base, promising to generally continue his policies.

While working in the Senate, Flavio Bolsonaro, a trained lawyer, advocated tough measures to combat crime, called for increasing prison sentences and making weapons more accessible: in his opinion, “worthy citizens” should have the right to self-defense from criminals.

He successfully lobbied for US authorities to designate the Brazilian criminal groups Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as foreign terrorist organizations. Lula did not support such measures.

During his campaign, Bolsonaro also campaigned among Brazilian evangelical Christians and representatives of the agricultural industry. He promised to get rid of what he considered unnecessary regulations and “get behind the farmers.”

Bolsonaro was recently asked if he still doesn't believe in global climate change (he said this in 2019). In response, the politician acknowledged the existence of “extreme climate events,” but added that they “are cyclical.”

Bolsonaro actively tried to gain support from Trump and members of his administration. He visited the White House in May and recently promised to enter into an anti-crime alliance with the United States if elected.

Corruption scandals: what worries voters

Until recently, Brazilians told pollsters that their biggest concerns were high crime and security issues.

However, a few weeks before the elections, a scandal erupted in the country, during which convicted banker Daniel Vorkara was accused of a major financial scam involving leading politicians.

Flavio Bolsonaro admitted that he asked Vorcara to finance the creation of a biopic about his father's life. This became known after the appearance of an audio recording of a conversation in which he asked for 134 million reais (about $26 million) for this purpose. In this regard, the Brazilian police began an investigation against Flavio Bolsonaro on suspicion of corruption and money laundering.

According to police, Vorkaru made several calls and text messages to a phone associated with Moraes. Investigators said that the banker asked his interlocutor to help him avoid arrest.

Moraes said he did nothing illegal, but the scandal meant public attention in the final weeks before the election was focused on the allegations against the Supreme Court judge rather than Flavio Bolsonaro.