Brazil’s Presidential Election Is Going Down to the Wire
As the Brazilian presidential election draws closer, Lula is in a very tight contest with Flávio Bolsonaro, son and heir of the Bolsonaro dynasty. The election is a struggle between Brazil’s democratic forces and the return to power of a reactionary bloc.
The scandal-plagued campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s disgraced former president, is still posing a strong challenge to Lula in the upcoming presidential vote. If the contest goes to a runoff, polls suggest it will be too close to call. (Mauro Pimentel and Evaristo Sa / AFP via Getty Images)
As the Brazilian presidential election on October 4 draws closer, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in a very tight contest with Flávio Bolsonaro, the son and heir of the Bolsonaro political dynasty. Lula is leading most of the polls for the first round, but the race appears too close to call in the event of a runoff between them.
This election does not merely pit two opposing candidates against each other. It is a struggle between Brazil’s democratic forces and the return to power of a reactionary bloc.
Lula’s Challenge
Lula is seeking a fourth term as president at the age of eighty-one. The Brazilian constitution allows for this: it does not impose any limits on how long one person can be in office, so long as they do not serve more than two consecutive terms.
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