Brazil on the brink: Why Lula is down against Bolsonaro Jr

The Brazilian presidential election will proceed to a runoff between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. According to reports, Flávio Bolsonaro secured 47% of the vote, while Lula da Silva received 45% in the first round. The runoff is scheduled for October 25.

Flávio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has garnered support from other right-wing politicians, including Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema, who endorsed him for the runoff. Caiado and Zema had previously run against Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round, securing 2.18% and 0.27% of valid votes, respectively.

Lula da Silva faces an uphill battle to win the presidency for a fourth non-consecutive term. Analysts suggest that he may still win if he can consolidate support from third-party voters who did not back him in the first round. The winner of Brazil's first round of voting has never lost an election, although never before has the second-place candidate been so close in the results.

Brief written by urgent.news from Asia Times, New Straits Times, Investing.com, The Mainichi, Qatar Tribune — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.