Supporters of former Brazilian president and current presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaign ahead of runoff election
(REUTERS)
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Brazil’s far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro and his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are nearly neck-and-neck in the polls as the country prepares to vote in today’s presidential election after a bitter campaign.
Surveys by pollsters Datafolha and Quaest place Lula with 52% of the vote against Bolsonaro’s 48%, down from the 6 point advantage of three days ago.
Most polls still suggest Lula is the slight favorite to return for a third term, with a notable political rebound following his jailing on graft convictions that were overturned. But Bolsonaro topped opinion polls in the first round on October 2 and many analysts say the election could go either way.
The polls will open at 8 am local time and close at 5 pm. More than 120 million Brazilians are expected to vote, but because voting is done electronically, the final result is usually available a few hours after polling stations close in the late afternoon.
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Da Silva was jailed and the convictions were later overturned
An extensive investigation revealed the involvement of Silva’s Workers’ Party in wide-ranging corruption scandals that ensnared top politicians and executives.
Da Silva himself was jailed for 19 months for corruption and money laundering. The Supreme Court overturned his convictions in 2019, claiming the judge was biased and colluded with prosecutors.
That didn’t stop Bolsonaro from reminding voters of his convictions. Da Silva’s possible election would be like letting a thief return to the scene of the crime, the president warned.
(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Sam Rkaina 30 October 2022 09:50
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Candidates battled online smear campaigns
The candidates presented few proposals for the country’s future beyond stating that they will continue with a large welfare program for the poor, despite very limited fiscal space going forward.
They turned against each other and launched smear campaigns online, with a considerable number of attacks coming from the Bolsonaro camp.
His four years in office have been marked by proclaimed conservatism and the defense of traditional Christian values.
He claimed without proof that da Silva’s return to power would usher in communism, legalization of drugs, abortion and persecution of the churches.
Da Silva spoke about Bolsonaro’s widely criticized handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the president failed to take care of the neediest members of society.
And he painted Bolsonaro as an opponent of the Amazon rainforest, given that he stood up to environmental authorities and presided over an increase in deforestation.
In campaign videos, da Silva also targeted Bolsonaro for being behind a policy that directs billions to lawmakers for pet projects in exchange for political support.
It is known as the “secret budget” because of the lack of transparency about the end uses of the money, and Da Silva said it depleted funds for key social spending.
Sam Rkaina 30 October 2022 09:20
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“Politically, Bolsonaro is stronger than he had imagined”
Candidates in Brazil who finish ahead in the first round usually win the second round.
But political scientist Rodrigo Prando said this campaign is so atypical that a Bolsonaro victory cannot be ruled out.
The president won the support of the governors of the three most populous states, and allied politicians scored big victories in congressional races.
“Politically, Bolsonaro is stronger than he had imagined,” said Prando, a professor at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo. “Mathematically, Lula is ahead.”
Twelve gubernatorial races will also be decided, including Brazil’s most populous state, São Paulo, the state of Amazonas and the northeastern state of Badia.
More than 150 million Brazilians are eligible to vote, but around 20% of the electorate abstained in the first round.
The Supreme Court has issued a ruling allowing state capitals to offer free public transportation on election day, and both Da Silva and Bolsonaro have focused efforts on boosting turnout.
(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Sam Rkaina 30 October 2022 08:59
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More than 120 million Brazilians expected to vote
The vote will determine whether the world’s fourth-largest democracy stays the course of far-right politics or returns a leftist to the top spot and, in the latter case, whether Bolsonaro will accept defeat.
More than 120 million Brazilians are expected to vote, but because voting is done electronically, the final result is usually available a few hours after polling stations close in the late afternoon.
Most opinion polls gave the lead to da Silva, universally known as Lula, although political analysts agreed that the race had become increasingly close in recent weeks.
For months, da Silva appeared headed for an easy victory as he stoked nostalgia for his 2003-2010 presidency, when Brazil’s economy was booming and welfare helped tens of millions join the middle class.
But in the first round election on October 2, da Silva came first among 11 candidates with 48% of the vote, while Bolsonaro came second with 43%, showing that opinion polls significantly underestimated the popularity of the president.
Many Brazilians support Bolsonaro’s advocacy of conservative social values, and he has bolstered their support with heavy government spending.
(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Sam Rkaina 30 October 2022 08:17
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The tight race offers a second chance for both candidates
Bolsonaro has pledged to consolidate a strong conservative turn in Brazilian politics after a presidency marked by the pandemic.
Lula promises more social and environmental responsibility, recalling the rise in prosperity of his 2003-2010 presidency, before corruption scandals decimated his Workers’ Party.
Some 120 million voters are expected to enter their choices into electronic voting machines that Bolsonaro has criticized without evidence as prone to fraud, raising concerns that he may not concede defeat, following the example of ideological ally, the former president of the United States Donald Trump.
That added to tensions in Brazil’s most polarizing election since its return to democracy in 1985 after a military dictatorship pitted against Lula, a former union leader, and Bolsonaro, a former captain of the ‘army,’ he invokes with nostalgia.
Sam Rkaina 30 October 2022 07:47
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Brazil’s president makes Argentina a campaign madman
As a Brazilian journalist living in Argentina, Luciana Taddeo says she tries harder and harder to refute the increasingly crazy rumors.
There were claims that the Argentine presidential palace had been invaded, that people had to leave their car keys in the ignition so the government could use them at any time, that the government had abolished the right to inherit property.
Many of these rumors have been fueled by the presidential elections in neighboring Brazil, where the acting president, Jair Bolsonaro, has turned Argentina — already a bitter football rival — into a kind of political cauldron, a warning of the horrors ahead. that could face his nation if he chose the left. former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Stuti Mishra30 October 2022 07:00
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He fears that Bolsonaro will refuse to accept defeat
The final hours of the toxic fight between far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and former leftist leader Lula Inacio Lula da Silva, known simply as Lula, saw accusations and bitter recriminations, as well as repeated warnings of possible violence widespread as a result of Sunday’s polls.
There is growing concern that Mr Bolsonaro, a former army captain who revels in his nickname “Trump of the Tropics”, will refuse to accept defeat and trigger a violent confrontation with his armed supporters taking to the streets .
Stuti Mishra October 30, 2022 6:40 am
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From prison to the presidency, Brazil’s Lula could make an impressive political comeback
It could be one of the most dramatic political rehabilitations, writes David Harding.
During the last Brazilian general election in 2018, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was in a prison cell, serving a 12-year sentence on corruption charges as part of the “Car Wash” scandal that shake the foundations of Brazilian politics and threatened to end his politics. race and paved the way for the controversial and far-right Jair Bolsonaro to triumph in an improbable victory.
This Sunday, “Lula” could be confirmed as the next president of the country and, to crown the greatest of all the comebacks of the extreme left, it would be at the expense of his main political rival, Bolsonaro, in a second round.
Stuti Mishra30 October 2022 06:15
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Brazilians are preparing to vote in a second round of polarizing elections
Brazilians will vote today in a polarizing presidential runoff election that pits an incumbent voter who safeguards conservative Christian values against a former president who promises to return the country to a more prosperous past.
The second round was shaped like a close competition between President Jair Bolsonaro and his political nemesis, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Both are well-known and divisive political figures who start both passion and hatred.
The vote will determine whether the world’s fourth-largest democracy stays the course of far-right politics or returns a leftist to the top spot and, in the latter case, whether Bolsonaro will accept defeat.
More than 120 million Brazilians are expected to vote, but because voting is done electronically, the final result is usually available a few hours after polling stations close in the late afternoon.
Most opinion polls gave Mr. da Silva, universally known as Lula, a lead, although political analysts agreed that the race had become increasingly close in recent weeks.
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