[Report] Mixed public opinion in Brazil... “Vote for change” vs “Expect a reversal”

(Sao Paulo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Song Gwang-ho = Colegio Obigecibo polling station in front of Paulista Street in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Starting at 8 a.m., people gathered in groups of twos and threes. This is to participate in the Brazilian presidential election runoff.

On this day, approximately 158.7 million Brazilian voters will vote for one of the left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula d'Iva and the right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro at 500,000 polling stations across the country.

Usually, voting for the Brazilian presidential election tends to be crowded in the afternoon, but perhaps because the election battle is more intense and intense than ever before, a significant number of voters came to the polling stations early in the morning on this day.

Luis Coelho (57) and his wife Patricia Milinha (52) met with Yonhap News on this day and announced that they voted for Bolsonaro of the Liberty Party (PL).

He said, “I came to the polls for change,” and pointed out that “security issues are at a serious level, from cell phone theft to violent incidents.”

He continued, "Taxes also increased a lot during the Lula government's rule. They raised taxes without any ability, so now we need to change the government."

On the other hand, Lula supporter Ingrich Bonpepe (40) emphasized that Lula is a better person compared to Bolsonaro, but expressed bitterness, saying, "In fact, I don't think Lula will win."

He said, “It is sad that there is not much hope for a reversal,” and “It is unfortunate that the reality is that a candidate with no values ​​and no respect for the people is likely to become president.”

Another Lula supporter did not give up hope.

Erek Slavski (33) and Paula Apollinar (30), who visited the polling station with their young daughter, said, “We still hold out hope for a reversal.”

Mr. Apollinar emphasized, “I believe that voters who abstained in the first round will give hope in the runoff election.”

Like the general opinion of Lula's supporters, the current situation is somewhat unfavorable for President Lula.

In the last survey by the public opinion polling company Datapolya, released the day before the election, Bolsonaro had an approval rating of 51%, ahead of Lula (49%), within the margin of error. Bolsonaro had the upper hand by 1.6 percentage points in the Bloomberg survey and by 1 percentage point in the BTG Factual survey. In major opinion polls conducted after the first round of voting, there was not a single case where Lula was ahead of Bolsonaro.

Eluiza Rivas (32), who visited another polling place, Escola Estadoal Rodríguez Alves, was hoping to vote by absentee ballot. He said, "I heard a survey showing that Lula is ahead in overseas absentee voting. He is also ahead by about 10 percentage points in Australia and New Zealand. I hope that the united vote of overseas voters will be the key to a turnaround."

Sao Paulo is a large city with strong support for Lula. On the streets, it is easy to see supporters wearing pro-Lula hats, T-shirts or with pro-Lula stickers on their chests. On the other hand, Bolsonaro supporters tend to be relatively discreet on the outside.

Marcela Iris (22), who voted for candidate Bolsonaro, said, "Brazil will not change much in four years if Bolsonaro is elected," but added, "However, meaningful change can begin even if it is small. Brazil must change."