“For months, pollsters and analysts had said that President Jair Bolsonaro was doomed. He faced a wide and unwavering deficit in Brazil’s high-stakes presidential race, and in recent weeks, the polls suggested he could even lose in the first round, ending his presidency after just one term,” the New York Times reports.
“Instead, it was Mr. Bolsonaro who had the better night on Sunday, outperforming forecasts and sending the race to a runoff later this month.”
“He will face Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former leftist president, who had been leading the polls since the race began.”
“Mr. da Silva received 47.9 percent of the votes on Sunday, versus 43.7 percent for Mr. Bolsonaro… Mr. Silva needed to exceed 50 percent to be elected president in this first round.”
