Brazil: According to the first partial results, Bolsonaro leads Lula in the presidential election

In the presidential election in Brazil, the right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro is ahead of the left-wing incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva according to the first partial results. After a good 90 percent of the votes were counted, Bolsonaro was around 48 percent ahead of Lula, who received almost 44 percent of the votes, as the Reuters news agency reported.

If none of the 12 candidates receives more than 50 percent of the valid votes, the two strongest candidates will compete against each other in a runoff election on October 25th. The polling institute Datafolha already predicted that there would be a runoff election between Bolsonaro and Lula.

In early partial results, Bolsonaro initially had more than 50 percent. However, the southern states that were more favorable to him reported their results more quickly - while the votes from Lula's stronghold in the northeast were counted more slowly.

80-year-old against son of ex-president

The left-wing politician Lula, now 80 years old, is aiming for a fourth term in office. 45-year-old Flávio Bolsonaro wants to inherit the legacy of his father: former President Jair Bolsonaro. He is in house arrest and sentenced to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup. From the perspective of the Bolsonaro family and their supporters, however, he is a political prisoner. Jair Bolsonaro was a close ally of US President Donald Trump.

Lula from the PT workers' party wants to continue his policies with social programs and public investments. Flávio Bolsonaro from the Liberal Party PL promised a leaner state and a tougher approach to crime.

Choice of direction for the entire region

The election in Brazil is seen as a directional election. A success for Bolsonaro would further drive the shift to the right in Latin America. In recent years, several countries have moved significantly to the right through elections. A Lula victory, on the other hand, would keep Brazil alongside Mexico as a major left-wing bastion in the region.

Around 159 million Brazilians were called to vote in Latin America's largest country. In addition to the president and his deputy, deputies, senators and governors were also elected. The election campaign was marked by concerns about the weakening economy, corruption scandals and allegations of US interference. National debt is over 82 percent of economic output.

The President of the Supreme Electoral Court TSE, Nunes Marques, said at a press conference that intelligence reports had so far shown no concrete evidence of foreign influence in the election. He made the comments when asked after the US closed its consular services in the South American country on Friday for security reasons.