One prominent pre-election poll gave da Silva a 14 percentage point lead. In the end, Bolsonaro surprised to the upside and came within just 5 points. He will face da Silva in a high-stakes Oct. On Sunday, da Silva, known universally as Lula, obtained The vote was virtually free from the political violence that many had feared. Yet tensions remain high, as are the stakes.
The past four years have been marked by his incendiary speech, testing of democratic institutions, widely criticized handling of the COVID pandemic and the worst deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in 15 years. But he has built a devoted base by defending conservative values and presenting himself as protecting the nation from leftist policies that he says infringe on personal liberties and produce economic turmoil.
Da Silva is credited with building an extensive social welfare program during his tenure that helped lift tens of millions into the middle class and saw exports surge amid the global commodities boom.
That freed him from imprisonment and cleared the way for his presidential run. Just ahead of the election, da Silva made a plea for support, saying a small number of votes could mean the difference between an outright victory and a runoff.
Bolsonaro and allies have repeatedly cast doubt on the reliability of pollsters like Datafolha, and pointed instead to his street rallies with great turnouts. Supporters like retired engineer Ramon Almeida agreed. The difference between Bolsonaro and da Silva in the first round amounted to 6. Tebet and Gomes together earned 8. And I tell you that we are going to win this election.
