Bolsonaro defies expectations in Brazil presidential vote to face Lula in run-off
Flavio Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of Donald Trump. (Reuters: Pilar Olivares)
Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro, has finished ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the country's election, which will go to a run-off in three weeks.
In a surprise result that defied opinion poll projections showing Mr Lula in the lead, Mr Bolsonaro scored 47 per cent of the vote to the incumbent's 45 per cent.
If Mr Bolsonaro triumphs in the October 25 election, Brazil will be the latest country in Latin America to swing to the right, a trend championed by US President Donald Trump.
The election results included a series of landslide wins for the right in parliament, a massive setback for Mr Lula, who, at almost 81, is seeking a fourth term in office to cement his legacy.
The veteran leftist branded the vote a battle between democracy and "barbarism," warning voters that Brazil's sovereignty was at stake in the face of US pressure.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, was little known nationally before his jailed father anointed him as his political heir, and he had never expressed ambition to follow in his footsteps.
However, his father's powerful name won over the country's conservative base, and he slid past Mr Lula despite a campaign marked by scandals and mudslinging.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.