Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, finished ahead of incumbant Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round of Sunday’s presidential election, setting up a high-stakes run-off on October 25.
Flavio Bolsonaro secured 47% of the vote, compared with 45% for the incumbent president . In extra time, we will win over the Brazilian people,” the 80-year-old president said, AFP reported.
The 45-year-old, Bolsonaro, said he was “very happy” after finishing ahead of Lula and expressed confidence that he could win the second round. “I am very happy with the real possibility that, three weeks from now, Brazil will give a definitive answer by choosing a modern government,” news agency AFP quoted the senator as saying. He survived electoral defeats, spent 580 days in prison and faced a corruption conviction that was later annulled but continues to be used against him by his political opponents, who taunt him as “Lula the thief.”
The result came as a surprise after opinion polls had projected Lula to lead. A Bolsonaro victory would make Brazil the latest Latin American country to move towards the right, a trend championed by US President Donald Trump . “I admit I was convinced I would win in the first round. The game is about to start. We are in extra time. The veteran leftist has already endured a string of political and personal setbacks.
