October 23, 2026
Brazil, which with 214 million people has nearly half the population and area of all of South America — it’s more than 3 million square miles — will hold runoff elections for president Oct. 25. The first round resulted in the right-wing parties taking a majority in parliament and led to the runoff.
In the vote for president, neither of the two top candidates won more than 50% of the vote. Incumbent President Luis Ignacio “Lula” da Silva won 45%, and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro won 47%, both short of a majority. Flávio is the son and political ally of ultraright ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to prison for attempting a coup in 2021 following Lula’s election to president and is now out under house arrest.
The Bolsonaros are allies of Trump. They submit to U.S. imperialism, and their program includes abolishing the right to abortion and opening up the Amazon rain forest to exploitation and destruction of the environment.
Demonstrations in 170 Brazilian cities during the weekend of Oct. 10-12 brought massive demonstrations to the streets to support the election of Lula and oppose the Bolsonaro-led group. The following article reporting on the polls is from Resumen Latinoamericano in English, published Oct. 19.
To read the full article, go to: Brazil: Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro in dead heat before Oct. 25.
