Brazil votes in tight presidential run-off between Lula and Bolsonaro

Voting began in Brazil on Sunday in a closely contested presidential run-off between left-wing incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Around 159 million eligible voters are called on to decide whether 80-year-old Lula, as the president is known, will secure a fourth term or hand power to his 45-year-old challenger, who is seeking the presidency for the first time.

Polling stations are due to close at 5 pm (2000 GMT), with the first preliminary results expected overnight.

The race is extremely tight, with Bolsonaro holding a slight lead in the latest opinion polls. In the first round, the senator secured around 47% of valid votes, compared with 45% for Lula, giving him a lead of more than 2 million votes.

"I believe it's time for real change," Bolsonaro said after casting his ballot in Rio de Janeiro.

The run-off follows a fiercely contested campaign marked by personal attacks and mutual accusations of corruption and links to organized crime, reflecting deep political divisions in Latin America's largest country.

Lula, who previously served as president from 2003 to 2010 before returning to office in 2023, has campaigned on his government's social and economic record, including falling poverty, record-low unemployment and increases in the real minimum wage.

His government also recently approved an end to the widespread six-day working week, paving the way for employees to generally work five days instead.

Bolsonaro, a senator since 2019, has promised a tougher crackdown on crime, including harsher sentences, a lower age of criminal responsibility and chemical castration for convicted sex offenders.

He has also pledged to seek an amnesty for his father, who was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for an attempted coup following his 2022 election defeat. The former president is currently under house arrest for health reasons.

The younger Bolsonaro has said he wants his father to place the presidential sash on him if he wins.

Political observers see Bolsonaro as having an advantage heading into the run-off, with several eliminated presidential candidates throwing their support behind him.

The right also made significant gains in Congress during the first round, reflecting a broader conservative shift in Brazilian politics.

Bolsonaro has sought to build on that momentum by campaigning in regions where he performed less strongly, including the poorer north-east, traditionally a stronghold of Lula's Workers' Party (PT).

Lula, meanwhile, has mobilized supporters across the country, including at a major rally on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach featuring prominent Brazilian musicians such as Caetano Veloso.

But the incumbent faces the challenge of winning over voters who remain deeply sceptical of his leadership, even as they oppose a return of the Bolsonaro family to power.

Despite improvements in economic indicators, many Brazilians remain concerned about the cost of living, public safety and corruption.

"What matters to many Brazilians is not whether the economy is growing statistically, but how much money they have left in their wallets at the end of the month," said Maximilian Hedrich, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's office in Rio de Janeiro.

The bitter rivalry was on display during the final television debate on Friday evening, when the candidates clashed over crime, public debt, social policy and health care.

"Brazil will send you into retirement," Bolsonaro told Lula

Lula responded by mocking his opponent's work experience, suggesting he had never worked himself and knew workers only from literature.

At one point, Bolsonaro wrote the word "corrupto" ("corrupt") on his hand and displayed it towards Lula, while the president accused his challenger of links to organized crime.

The two also sparred over the former president's imprisonment, with Lula joking that he wanted the votes of all prisoners, including Jair Bolsonaro.

The election has also reignited debate over the role of Brazil's Supreme Court, which convicted the former president, and the country's relations with the United States.

For many voters, however, the choice is between two deeply polarizing political camps.

"It's always the same, Lula and Bolsonaro. I'm honestly sick of it," voter Manuel Herreira told dpa ahead of the first round in Rio de Janeiro, saying politicians repeatedly made promises they failed to keep.

He said he intended to cast an invalid ballot, a form of protest in Brazil in which voters deliberately spoil their vote. Voting is compulsory for most adults in the country.