Brazil is on a knife-edge tonight as millions of voters around the country head to the polls, as fears have been raised that the current far-right President may refuse to accept the election results if he loses and unleash armed street protests.
Voters in the world’s fourth-largest democracy will decide tonight whether former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also known as Lula, will defeat incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro.
The contentious campaign has left the nation of 215 million people sharply divided between Bolsonaro supporters and Lula supporters.
The polls opened at 8 a.m. local time and will shut at 5 p.m. (about 8 p.m. in the United Kingdom), bringing an end to the intense race between the two candidates. In January, the winner will be sworn in as president.
Lula, of the Worker’s Party, narrowly defeated President Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party, by five percentage points in the first round of voting four weeks ago, and the final outcome is anticipated to be tight.
Concerns have been voiced that Bolsonaro, who has been dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics,” may refuse to concede defeat if he loses.
If he refuses to recognize the outcome of the election, it is feared that his armed supporters would take to the streets in protest.
But on Friday night, he committed to respect the election outcome, despite the possibility of claims of electoral fraud and reaction from his followers.
On her way to a Lula event in Sao Paulo, a concerned voter expressed anxiety that Bolsonaro would disregard the voters’ decision.
The 27-year-old Marcia dos Santos stated, “He is by nature a tyrant, and he and his family have targeted our governmental structures.”
Everyone feels anxious. My mum does not want me to be homeless following the result. However, we must defend the vote by appearing in public.
Her friend, 33-year-old educator Antonia Luiz, adding, “Bolsonaro has been a disaster after disaster.” This is an opportunity to begin righting the country with Lula. He is a decent person.
In the past, the President was criticized for his poor management of the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in over 680,000 deaths in Brazil, as well as for his abrasive personality and disregard for political correctness.
In recent months, however, declining unemployment rates, reducing inflation, and a growing economy have provided him with a boost.
Mr. Trump, who continues to erroneously assert that he will defeat President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, described the left-wing nominee as “a extreme left madman who will soon destroy your country.”
Previously, he had referred to the current president of Brazil as a “wonderful friend.”
Mr. Trump stated, “Jair Bolsonaro and I have become great friends for the American people over the past few years.
He is a wonderful man and has my full and complete support.
The government of President Biden promptly added that it will move swiftly to recognize whoever leader is democratically chosen.
The government encouraged Brazil to ensure a ‘free, fair, credible, transparent, and peaceful’ election, adding that relations with the South American nation would be reevaluated if anti-democratic practices were employed.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of Bolsonaro’s sons, met Trump supporters in the United States earlier this month and claimed that his father would be “the victim of the worst electoral fraud ever” if he lost the 2020 race.
On October 2, 77-year-old Lula narrowly won the first-round election, making him the slight favorite for the next round.
The final survey conducted by the Datafolha institute on Saturday found that 52 percent of voters supported the left-wing candidate, while 48 percent supported the incumbent. When Bolsonaro was last elected, though, he outperformed all expectations.
Minutes after the polls opened, President Bolsonaro was spotted casting his ballot in Rio de Janeiro while Lula voted in his hometown of So Bernardo do Campo in the state of So Paulo.
Bolsonaro remarked, as he greeted supporters outside the polling booth, “God willing, we will be victorious later today.” Or, even better, Brazil will prevail.
However, the left-wing contender stated that he was “confident in the victory of democracy” and that, if elected, he would work to “establish peace” in the divided nation.
As the tense election nears its conclusion, Brazilians are still divided on which candidate would best serve as president.
Eliane de Oliveira, a 61-year-old lawyer who voted in Rio, stated, “I believe this has been Brazil’s best government ever.”
She said that she was pleased to have a government that was “not corrupt,” a reference to the Lula corruption scandal.
When he left office in 2011, the former president was the nation’s most popular leader, having lifted millions out of poverty through social programs.
However, he subsequently became embroiled in a big corruption scandal and was imprisoned for 18 months until having his convictions overturned last year. The Supreme Court determined that the presiding judge was prejudiced, but Lula was not acquitted.
If elected, he will face a Congress dominated by Bolsonaro MPs and friends.
Others are willing to back the former boss. Gustavo Souza, a physical education instructor, voted for Lula “with the intention of changing people’s lives.”
Like many others, he expressed concern that Bolsonaro would not recognize the election’s outcome.
The instructor continued, ‘People have grown so extreme. They will require maturity… or it will escalate into the third or fourth global conflict.
Brazil’s 156 million eligible voters will cast their ballots tonight till 8 p.m. UK time. The election’s outcome is anticipated to be announced within a few hours.