REACTION: Brazil Heads to Runoff Election
The first-round vote ended with a margin much slimmer than expected between the main candidates, President Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and President Jair Bolsonaro are headed to a runoff election on October 30 after a first round that took many by surprise. Despite polls consistently showing Lula ahead by around 10 percentage points—and even the possibility that he would win outright in the first round with over 50% of the vote—the final result was much closer: Lula finished ahead with 48.4% of the vote, while Bolsonaro reached 43.2%. The incumbent led the vote count for several hours, accumulating large-margin wins in the South, Center-West and Southeast regions. Northeastern...
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