Brazil's presidential election: Lula and Bolsonaro's son in a fierce battle ahead of a possible second round

- Lula is a statesman. He has built our country. The other candidate is a scoundrel, says Terezinha Freire, 66, dietician.

She shakes her head when she mentions Flávio Bolsonaro by name.

- When his father ruled Brazil, it was a disaster. Especially for us women. Lula is much better for us, she says.

Her husband stands next to her outside the polling station in the Flamengo district of Rio de Janeiro.

- The Bolsonaro family stands for a racist project. They want the white elite to rule our country again, he says.

Further into the polling station, doctor Ricardo Aquino, 73, is also preparing to vote for Lula da Silva. He believes that Brazil is once again at a turning point.

- If Flávio Bolsonaro wins, he will hand over Brazil to Trump. We will be America's backyard again.

The doctor has dressed in the Brazilian national team jersey, which is used as a symbol of the right-wing nationalists.

- We have to take the shirt back, says Ricardo Aquino.

Earlier in the day, Lula da Silva spoke to the media outside the venue where he voted in one of São Paulo's industrial suburbs.

- What is at stake is what kind of Brazil we will have. Democracy or barbarism, he said.

Lula da Silva believes that Flávio Bolsonaro's father, Jair Bolsonaro, attempted a coup d'état when he lost the election four years ago. Bolsonaro's supporters don't think so.

- It was a peaceful demonstration against Lula's corrupt politics, says Ian Gil, 38, electrician.

He has gathered with his male friends in a Portuguese tavern in Largo do Machado square. Everyone around the table is dressed in the Brazilian national team shirt and has voted for Flávio Bolsonaro.

- Lula da Silva and his party have ruled Brazil for almost 25 years. We can't take it anymore. We have to get rid of him. I'm tired of people accepting grants. They should work instead, says Ian Gil.

He thinks that Lula da Silva has become powerful.

- He has the judges in the Supreme Court in his hand. Everyone does as he says. We need a candidate who can shake things up and make Brazil great again, he says.

If none of Sunday's candidates gets more than 50 percent, the election will be decided in a second round on October 25 between the two who received the most votes. Flávio Bolsonaro has urged voters who intended to vote for other right-wing candidates to vote for him already in the first round. Flávio Bolsonaro wants the election decided as soon as possible.

- There is a clear movement of protest voices. Those who would otherwise have voted for other candidates are now voting for me, he told the media when he voted.

One of those who intend to vote for him is pensioner Sandra de Souza, 69.

- We need a radical change. Flávio has promised to do it. It is not true that he is the villain that people try to paint him as. He has a good project for our country, she says, waving a flag that represents the right-wing nationalist party of the Bolsonaro family.

In Brazil, the election takes place by voters entering their respective candidates' numbers into an electronic ballot box. Lula da Silva has number 13. Flávio Bolsonaro has number 22. Since the votes are counted digitally, the final result will come shortly after the polls close at 5 p.m. local time, Swedish time at 10 p.m.