🔴 Brazil presidential election heads to runoff with Bolsonaro ahead of Lula
Also reported by CBS News
Summary
Brazilians voted in a presidential election between the current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro. Since no candidate may have won over 50% of the votes, a runoff election is scheduled for October 25.Key Facts
- The election includes 12 presidential candidates, with Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro as the front runners.
- Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup.
- If no one wins more than half the votes, the top two candidates will compete in a runoff.
- More than 158 million Brazilians were eligible to vote in this election.
- Voters also chose state governors, state legislators, members of the lower house of Congress, and some senators.
- Lula, 80 years old, is running for president for the seventh time and has strengthened ties with China.
- The right-wing has been gaining power in Latin America, with Trump allies winning recent elections.
- Lula faces challenges including an affordability crisis and a corruption scandal linked to a Supreme Court justice involved in Bolsonaro’s trial.
