Politics · 2026-10-25 · Morning briefing

Brazil votes in tight presidential runoff between Lula and Bolsonaro

Brazilians are voting in a presidential runoff pitting the incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. The challenger bested the president by 2.2 million votes in the first round, securing 47% to Lula's 45%, though neither candidate achieved the absolute majority required for an outright victory.

The 80-year-old Lula, whose approval rating has fallen to 24%, has made several last-minute appeals to voters. His administration backed a law reducing the workweek from 44 to 40 hours, pardoned the debts of 3.6 million small businesses, and increased payments from the Bolsa Familia welfare program by 15%. Bolsonaro, 45, has pledged to build El Salvador-style megaprisons and try defendants as young as 16 as adults.

Flavio Bolsonaro campaigns to return his family name to power while his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, serves a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup. Though voting is mandatory for nearly 160m citizens, the election may be decided by the 33m people—21% of the electorate—who abstained in the first round.

Summary written by Cup of News with AI from the sources below. Check the originals for the full story.

Read the sources

• Brazil's Lula, Bolsonaro Close Arguments To Voters Ahead Of Nail-Biting Election Runoff
• Brazil heads to polls in runoff between leftist Lula and Bolsonaro Jr
• Brazil Faces a Tense Lula Vs Bolsonaro Runoff With US Influence Over Latin America at Stake
• What to know as Brazilians choose between Lula and Bolsonaro in tense presidential runoff
• Brazil's runoff: Lula's legacy vs. Bolsonaro's dynasty

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