From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Brazilians begin voting in runoff between leftist Lula and far-right incumbent Bolsonaro
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilians began voting this morning in a polarizing presidential runoff election that pits an incumbent vowing to safeguard conservative Christian values against a former president promising to return the country to a more prosperous past.
The runoff shaped up as a close contest between President Jair Bolsonaro and his political nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both are well-known, divisive political figures who stir passion as much as loathing.
The vote will determine if the world’s fourth-largest democracy stays the same course of far-right politics or returns a leftist to the top job — and, in the latter case, whether Bolsonaro will accept defeat.
Bolsonaro is first in line to cast his vote at a military complex in Rio de Janeiro. He sports the green and yellow colors of the Brazilian flag that always feature at his rallies.
“I’m expecting our victory, for the good of Brazil,” he tells reporters afterward. “God willing, Brazil will be victorious today.”
Voting stations in the capital, Brasilia, are already crowded by morning and, at one of them, retired public servant Luiz Carlos Gomes said he’ll vote for da Silva.
“He’s the best for the poor, especially in the countryside,” says Gomes, 65, who hails from Maranhao state in the poor northeast region. “We were always starving before him.”
More than 120 million Brazilians are expected to cast ballots, and because the vote is conducted electronically, the final result is usually available within hours after voting stations close in late afternoon. Most opinion polls gave a lead to da Silva, universally known as Lula, though political analysts agreed the race grew increasingly tight in recent weeks.
