Brazilians are voting on Sunday in a closely fought presidential run-off between the left-wing incumbent, 80-year-old Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45. Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term. Flavio is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
Flavio Bolsonaro came first in the first round on October 4, a result US President Donald Trump called a "very big" victory. According to sources, no candidate who trailed after the first round has ever gone on to win a Brazilian run-off. Flavio has promised a tough crackdown on organised crime, tax and spending cuts, and the release of his father, who is serving his sentence under house arrest because of ill health. On the eve of the vote he told supporters the country would shape its future "for the next 30 or 40 years".
Lula, addressing a huge crowd on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach on Saturday, framed the vote as a matter of "sovereignty". His government has accused the United States of interfering in the election, which Washington calls "baseless". "It's true that the people want change [but] they want to move forward. They don't want to go backward," he said. His supporters have staged large rallies to lift turnout after 33 million people did not vote in the first round.
Lula's Workers' Party has cast the contest as a "battle for democracy", while Flavio argues that working with Washington against powerful gangs would restore state control. The result will shape Latin America's largest economy and its relationship with the US.