Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said on Sunday he had “defeated the lies” in the polls and was optimistic for the second round against favorite Lula on October 30.
The head of state obtained 43% of the votes, against 48% for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won by a much smaller margin than that predicted by the polls on the outgoing president.
“Play Second Half”
The far-right president said he was optimistic about “playing the second half” of the presidential election.
The Brazilians punished the outgoing president, 67, less than expected for his denial of Covid (685,000 dead), the economic crisis in a country where more than 30 million people suffer from hunger and the crises that have punctuated his entire term.
By October 30, the populist leader will have a chance to galvanize his troops in the streets and find new momentum. Additionally, many Bolsonarista candidates, including former government ministers, have been elected to Congress.
fear of trouble
Throughout the day, Brazilians had rushed en masse to elect their president, but also the deputies, a third of the senators and the governors of the 27 states, with long queues.
The vote, to which 156 million voters had been called, took place without violence or major incidents in the largest country in Latin America. Jair Bolsonaro had repeatedly threatened not to recognize the result of the polls and riots were feared.
More than 500,000 members of the security forces had been mobilized to guarantee the security of the ballot, which was carried out in the presence of dozens of foreign observers.
Source: BFM TV
