+34
Brazilians voted Sunday in a presidential election pitting incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, with a possible runoff on Oct. 25 if no candidate wins a majority.
Brazilians began voting Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election pitting incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro. The vote comes as Latin America shifts to the right in line with the Trump administration.
Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro Face Off
Polls suggested both candidates had a chance of winning outright. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two will head to a runoff on Oct. 25. Twelve candidates are on the presidential ballot. Nearly 159 million Brazilians were eligible to vote in Latin America's largest economy.
Bolsonaro, 45, is the son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. He has touted his proximity to the White House. He denies his campaign received help from the U.S. government. Lula, 80, is one of the world's oldest heads of state, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
He is running in his seventh presidential election. He has strengthened Brazil's ties with Beijing. If Lula wins outright, he would become the oldest man ever elected to lead Brazil. He says he wants to live to be 120.
He tried to ease concerns by posting workout videos to convince voters that age is just a number. While the once widely popular Lula saw his approval ratings plummet during his third term, standing up to the U.S. has given him a boost. He still enjoys a strong base of supporters who credit his social policies for improving millions of Brazilians' lives. Lula has often spoken about risks of U.S. intervention in the Brazilian elections.
Trump Tensions Shape Brazil Election
The Trump administration imposed high tariffs against Brazilian exports. It revoked the visa of the country's ambassador. It sanctioned a Supreme Court justice who chaired the investigation that sentenced Jair Bolsonaro. Lula told journalists after voting Sunday that he needs to do double of what we have done if reelected.
He expressed confidence in a first-round win. But he faces a tough battle because of an affordability crisis and a corruption scandal that ensnared the same justice who led the investigation into Bolsonaro. Many in the Lula campaign were not expecting such a difficult election a few weeks ago, said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo.
It is clear to them that the present election is a tough battle and the next ones, without Lula, could be even more so. Flavio Bolsonaro has promised to crack down on Brazilian criminal groups. He insisted Brazil needs to strike better deals with the Trump administration, including in the rare minerals economy, second only to China. He also has campaigned on releasing his father and bringing him back to politics.
Brazil needs change. Brazil can't stand so much suffering, he told reporters at the Rio de Janeiro voting center where he cast his vote Sunday. The senator faces his own challenges. His political career has been tainted by several corruption accusations.
Corruption Claims and Electronic Voting
They include receiving millions of dollars from a disgraced banker to allegedly produce a movie on his father's life. In the lead-up to the 2022 vote, Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly cast unfounded doubts on Brazil's electronic voting system. Brazilian authorities adopted electronic voting machines in the 1990s to tackle longstanding fraud. In earlier elections, ballot boxes were stuffed or stolen and individual votes were routinely falsified, according to Brazil's electoral authority.
Now results are reported mere hours after polls close. No significant fraud has ever been detected in the electronic system. Brazilian voters use electronic voting machines. They prepare number-heavy lists to remember their candidates' numbers and punch the corresponding digits at the ballot box.
During the campaign, supporters of Lula displayed a large-headed effigy of Flavio Bolsonaro with a message in Portuguese reading Traitor of Brazil. The scene occurred at a campaign event at a central bus station in Brasilia on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. Brazilians also elected 27 state governors, members of state legislatures, all 513 federal members of the lower house of Congress and 54 of the country's 81 senators on Sunday.
Voters Prioritize Security and Social Policies
Rosane Wink, 67, a retired engineer, is a lifelong conservative voter who supports the former president's son and his promise to classify criminal groups as terrorist organizations. It's a kind of terrorism that they're doing with us, said Wink as she voted in Rio de Janeiro. Last month she had a gun held to her stomach as a criminal bit her hand and removed her wedding ring, she said.
Maria Ribeiro, a 50-year-old cell phone vendor from Brasilia, said she voted for Bolsonaro because she wants freedom to express her Evangelical religion. She hopes he follows in his father's footsteps. I voted for his father, and I don't regret it, she said. Rosangela Resende da Rocha, a 69-year-old who was previously a stay-at-home mom, said she supported Lula's social policies that help the less fortunate and how he stands up to Trump.
That crazy guy wants to come in here to buy our country, so that our country will be like it is over there, she said at a voting center in Brasilia. He won't succeed if Lula wins. Even for those outside the country, Lula's social programs drove many to continue supporting him.
Thank God I do not need the help of social programs, but I vote for those that need them: health, education, basic sanitation, housing, food, said Catia Oliveira, a 61-year-old Brazilian who cast her vote from Portugal. Trump has made his opinions clear on recent Latin American elections, endorsing candidates in Colombia and Honduras. He has spoken out against former President Bolsonaro's conviction. He has declared Brazilian gangs to be foreign terrorist organizations.
The election is a tense political showdown in Brazil. Voting started Sunday morning and continued through the day.
Please follow us on Google to support us
CTVNews 
CTVToronto:Brazilians vote in presidential election dominated by Lula and Bolsonaro 
CP24:Brazilians vote for next president as Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro hope for first round victoryThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
International Brazil Presidential Election Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva Flavio Bolsonaro Brazil Electronic Voting Brazil Runoff Election Brazil Runoff Donald Trump
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro Rally in Sao Paulo on Eve of Brazil Presidential VotePresident Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro campaigned in Sao Paulo state on Saturday, the final day before Brazil's Sunday general election, with polls suggesting a possible first-round win or an Oct. 25 runoff.
Read more »
Brazilians Head to Polls in Heated Presidential Election Between Lula and BolsonaroVoters in Latin America's economic powerhouse Brazil go to the polls to elect a new president, with former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva facing current government ally Eduardo Bolsonaro in a deeply polarized contest. The race is characterized by personal attacks rather than policy proposals, and if no candidate secures over 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on October 25 between the top two contenders.
Read more »
The Latest: Brazilians vote in presidential election dominated by Lula and BolsonaroBrazilians are voting Sunday in a pivotal presidential election dominated by incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his ideological opposite, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro.
Read more »