Brazilians vote in election that could reshape US ties
More than 150 million Brazilians headed to the polls Sunday in a pivotal presidential election for Latin America’s largest economy.
Brazil held a pivotal presidential election on Sunday, with over 150 million voters casting their ballots in a contest that has been dominated by tensions between Brasília and Washington. Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the current frontrunner, has leveraged accusations from Brazil's attorney general that the US is undermining Brazilian democracy as a central theme in his campaign.
His main opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro, has pledged to align Brazil with the US's "militaristic anti-crime initiatives" as part of the White House's "Donroe Doctrine" aimed at exerting influence in the Western Hemisphere. Despite Brazil's considerable resources, its autonomy to act independently is increasingly under threat as major powers are able to dictate their terms of engagement with the country.
Brief written by urgent.news from Semafor's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
