Lula bets on education and non-voters to overturn the result in the runoff

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva aims to overturn the first round runoff results by focusing on education, research, and industry during his campaign on October 25. He emphasizes the need for the nearly 30 million Brazilians who abstained to cast their ballots. Despite finishing behind Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the initial vote, Lula claimed that the second round would reveal the true state of Brazil.

With 99.9% of votes tallied, Bolsonaro secured 47% of valid votes, while Lula garnered 45%. Lula vowed to uphold investments in universities, federal institutions, and secondary education, alongside expanding the Púde-meia program, which offers financial incentives to students to decrease dropout rates. He stressed that education is the key to transforming the nation, citing a connection between this commitment and enhancing Brazil's productive and technological capacity.

Lula also challenged Bolsonaro's record, expressing grave concerns about potential ties to organized crime and the Banco Master case. Bolsonaro is currently under investigation for the latter case without formal charges and has denied any wrongdoing. The abstention factor plays a significant role, as votes for eliminated first-round candidates, totaling around 8%, predominantly originate from center-right and right-wing voters.

Conversely, non-voters, who constitute a disproportionate number of Lula's electoral base, are largely from lower-income groups.