Brazil chooses today between the continuity of the far-right Bolsonaro and the return of the progressive Lula

Euskaraz irakurri: Bolsonaro ultraeskuindarraren jaripenaren eta Lula progressiveen itzuleraren artean hautatuko dute Brasilen

Some 156.4 million Brazilians are called to the polls this Sunday to choose between the continuity of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and the return to power of former progressive president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro and Lula will meet in a second round of elections for which the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) is the favorite, with an advantage of between four and seven percentage points, according to the latest polls. Voting will take place in the 5,570 cities of the country and in 181 locations abroad.

Both candidates, who have divided the electorate as had not been seen in the recent history of Brazil, they rushed until the last moment on Saturday to close a fierce campaign that has lasted for two and a half months.

Lula da Silva, celebrating the victory in the first round. Photo: EFE

Lula, the most voted candidate in the 1st round

In the first roundLula (president between 2003 and 2010), champion of a broad progressive front to which center and center-right forces have joined, was the most voted candidate with 48.4% of the votes, compared to 43.2% that he obtained the retired Army captain, who aspires to a new four-year term.

The favoritism of Lula, who regained his political rights last year after spending 580 days in prison for corruption processes which were subsequently annulled, has remained constant throughout the campaign.

20% abstention

In recent weeks, Lula and Bolsonaro have focused on convincing the undecided and absentees, who reached 20% in the first round, despite the fact that In Brazil, voting is compulsory..

However, the positions of one and the other are practically fixed. The margin to gain new support is minimal and, in fact, there have been no big swings in voting intentions in the most recent polls.

Lula continues with a wide advantage in the Northeast region, the PT’s historical granary of votes, and among the poorest populationwhich represents practically half of the electorate.

Bolsonaro, for his part, stands out among the wealthiest and the influential evangelical electoratewhom Lula has tried to seduce with the disclosure of a letter in which he declared himself against abortion and affirmed that the family is “a sacred thing.”