Brazilians will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president in a heart-pounding runoff between two candidates who offer vastly different visions of the future of Latin America’s largest democracy.
Right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro has gathered supporters around what he calls a left-wing attack on family values and individual freedoms. He has denounced academics, the media and even democratic institutions, including the Brazilian Congress and the Supreme Court, as enemies.
The left-wing challenger, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former president, has vowed to rule for all Brazilians while returning the country to a more prosperous past, though his own history of corruption scandals has divided voters.
In the first round of voting on Oct. 2, Mr. da Silva got about six million more votes than Mr. Bolsonaro, who came in second, but he failed to reach the 50 percent threshold to avoid a second round. Bolsonaro fared much better than opinion polls had predicted, suggesting Sunday’s race could be close.
On Sunday, the Electoral Authority will begin releasing the results after polling stations close at 4 p.m. EST. The new president will be sworn in on January 1.
The Times will be reporting live on the election throughout the day.
What are the problems?
The elections come at a crucial time for Brazil, where rising food and fuel prices, coupled with a painful economic slowdown, have made life more difficult for many Brazilians. About 33 million of the country’s 217 million people suffer from hunger, while poverty has risen, undoing decades of social and economic progress.
There are also major environmental and climate concerns. Amazon deforestation has reached its highest level in 15 years under Bolsonaro, who has weakened environmental protections and argued that the rainforest should be opened up to mining, ranching and farming. The destruction of the Amazon — and its effects on efforts to avert a climate crisis — has turned Brazil into a global outcast.
There are also lingering questions about the health of Brazilian democracy. Bolsonaro has cast doubts on the integrity of the electoral system, claiming without evidence that the country’s electronic voting machines can be manipulated. If he loses on Sunday, he has said, only through fraud.
This has fueled concerns — at home and abroad — that a potential loss to Bolsonaro could prompt him to rally his millions of supporters and call on them to take to the streets and demand that he remain in power.
What is Mr Bolsonaro proposing?
Mr. Bolsonaro has pledged to hand out cash payments of about $113 a month to needy families, extending a temporary policy originally set up to soften the blow of the pandemic.
The continuation of the programme, which replaced a similar but less generous initiative launched under Mr da Silva, aims to “reduce poverty and contribute to sustainable economic growth”, according to the official policy plan of the Mr Bolsonaro.
In the run-up to the election, Bolsonaro has spent heavily on social security and fuel subsidies.
He has also pledged to create jobs by eliminating red tape, cutting taxes and investing in technology. In a further nod to business leaders, who gave him vital support during his first run for president, Mr. Bolsonaro said he would maintain a free-market approach and keep government debt in check.
Following the rhetoric that won him the support of ultra-conservative and evangelical voters four years ago, Mr. Bolsonaro also vows to defend “the family,” against legal abortion and transgender education in schools.
Mr. Bolsonaro also pledges to expand hard crime policies and further expand access to firearms, a policy he attributes to a decline in violent crime across Brazil.
What is Mr. da Silva proposing?
Mr. da Silva led a golden era of growth during his two terms in office, when a resource-driven boom turned Brazil into a global success story. He promises to bring the country back to those glory days.
The left-wing candidate vows to raise taxes on the rich and increase government spending, “and put the people in the budget”. His plans include a slew of social programs such as a $113 monthly cash voucher to rival the one proposed by Mr Bolsonaro. Poor families with children also receive an additional $28 per month for each child under the age of 6.
Mr da Silva has also pledged to adjust Brazil’s minimum wage to inflation and revive a housing plan for the poor, while ensuring food security for those who are starving.
mr. Da Silva, a former trade unionist, plans to boost growth and “create jobs and jobs” by spending on infrastructure. But he also plans to invest in a “green economy” and warns that Brazil must shift to more sustainable energy and food systems.
On the Amazon, Mr. da Silva has indicated that he will tackle environmental crime by militias, land grabbers, loggers and others.
What has happened since the first vote?
In the first round of voting, Mr da Silva won 48 percent of the vote, while Mr Bolsonaro got 43 percent of the vote, significantly outperforming pre-election polls and raising questions about the credibility of opinion polls.
The flawed polls also gave credence to Bolsonaro’s claims that the polls did not accurately reflect his popularity.
Polls en route to Sunday’s vote show Mr da Silva’s narrowing lead over Mr Bolsonaro, with both candidates stepping up their efforts to bolster voter support.
Da Silva has focused on taking a more moderate tone and forging alliances with centrist presidential candidates who failed the first round as a way to win over some of the 10 million voters who voted for them.
Bolsonaro has reached out to right-wing governors in Brazil’s three most populous states in an effort to turn political support into votes. He has also engaged religious leaders in his quest to increase his advantage among evangelical voters.
Yet much of the campaign — already marked by misinformation and vicious online attacks — has turned into a mudslinging mess with little discussion of the challenges the country’s next leader will face.
Bolsonaro’s has sought to tie his rival to Satanism, prompting Mr da Silva to issue a statement confirming he “has no pact” with the devil. Da Silva, for his part, has seized unflattering videos of Bolsonaro linking him to Freemasonry, cannibalism and pedophilia.
How does the voting work?
Brazilians will vote on electronic voting machines, a system that has been in place for more than two decades and which has been central to Bolsonaro’s claims about the risk of electoral fraud.
About 156 million Brazilians are eligible to vote in the elections. Voting in Brazil is mandatory, although the fine for not casting a vote is less than a dollar and is mostly symbolic. In the first round, the turnout was about 79 percent.
Turnout usually falls in the second round because the elimination of candidates after the first round dampens enthusiasm among some voters. Some poorer voters who tend to elect Mr da Silva may also stay out of the second round, as the cost of going to the polls in such a vast country can be disheartening.