IQN (NewsDesk): Brazilians began voting on Sunday in a polarising presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, a contest that will decide who leads the country for the next four years and could shift US influence in Latin America.
Bolsonaro, an ally of the United States, outperformed expectations in the first round on October 4, beating Lula by more than 2.2 million votes, a margin of less than two percentage points that still fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Lula, a left of centre veteran, has since campaigned hard and invested in costly incentives to win over undecided voters. Polls show the incumbent closing the gap.
Bolsonaro supporters, many wearing the yellow and green of Brazil’s football shirt, said they were voting for change. A Lula victory would leave Brazil and Mexico with left of centre leaders. Lula’s campaign has also accused Meta’s AI of refusing to generate images of him while producing material favourable to his opponent, a claim Meta disputes as a technical problem.
