Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will spend Monday trying to shake-up his campaign after losing the first round of national elections to Flávio Bolsonaro BRASILIA, Brazil -- Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has pulled off a surprisingly strong showing in Brazil's first round of presidential elections, giving him momentum in the weeks before an Oct. 25 runoff against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has allied himself with the Trump administration at a moment when Trump allies are taking power in Latin America, while Lula has spoken out against U.S. interference in the Brazilian elections and built a stronger relationship with Beijing. In a tight race on Sunday, Bolsonaro garnered 47% of the vote to the president's 45%. Since neither candidate secured an absolute majority, they will face off again in three weeks.
Bolsonaro bested Lula by just 2.2 million votes, while other candidates who ran divided 9 million votes between them, leaving those potentially up for grabs. The winner of Brazil’s first round of voting has never lost an election, though never before has the second-place candidate been so close in the results. Here's what to know about the upcoming second round and what it means for Brazil.
The 80-year-old Lula will face an uphill battle to win the presidency for the fourth nonconsecutive term, analysts say. Edinho Silva, the chairman of Lula’s Workers’ Party, told journalists in Sao Paulo that the president will meet with campaign managers in Brasilia seeking to refine his message delivery, evaluate regional turnout figures, and re-allocate resources to key battleground states ahead of the second round. TV debates, which were snubbed by both candidates in the first round, will also be key, he said.
We will show Brazilians that Flávio Bolsonaro is dangerous and will not run this country in a way they will see their lives improve,” Silva said. His team is focusing on building on his already impressive congressional backing: His Liberal Party will have more than one-third of the Senate after their wins on Sunday — which is unusual in Brazil’s fractured political system. Lula is fighting a trend of frustration with incumbents and a shift to the right in Brazil and worldwide, according to Creomar de Souza, a political analyst with Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, a Brasilia-based political consultancy firm.
The once widely popular Lula's approval ratings plummeted during his third term as Brazilians grew discontent with the higher cost of living and security concerns, but bounced back. Since 2016, Brazil is under that right-wing spirit. It leaned to Flávio this time, but it could have been anybody else on the right,” de Souza said.
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