Brazilians vote Sunday in a presidential race between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Polls put Lula slightly ahead in the first round but show a dead heat in an expected Oct. 25 runoff.
Lula has been credited with expanding social programs, overhauling the tax system and reducing Amazon deforestation. The economy is slowing, and crime and violence are top voter concerns. Lula raised welfare benefits and banned online betting, which has driven millions into debt; Flávio pledged a hard line on crime and maximum-security mega-prisons.
Scandals dominated the campaign. Jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro is accused of orchestrating one of Brazil’s largest financial fraud cases; Flávio is under investigation for suspected corruption and money laundering over financing for a biopic about his father, bankrolled by Vorcaro. Lula’s corruption convictions were later annulled on a jurisdictional technicality. Vorcaro’s ties to a Supreme Court justice also tarnished the image of Brazil’s institutions.
