Brazil election: Bolsonaro's presidency is shaking – the military wants to examine the election

Created: 2022-10-02 08:29

By: Bettina Menzel

For Jair Bolsonaro, the elections in Brazil could be close.

The right-wing incumbent is fueling doubts about the electoral system and may not recognize the result.

Update from Sunday, October 2nd, 8:23 a.m .:

In Brazil there will be elections this Sunday.

More than 156 million eligible voters are asked to vote on their new head of state.

The first results can be expected on Monday night.

The right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and the left-wing ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are up for election.

In polls, Lula, who ruled Brazil from 2003 to 2010, is well ahead of Bolsonaro.

The election is overshadowed by fears of possible unrest.

Similar to former US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has already indicated that he may not recognize the result.

In the run-up to the Brazil elections, he had repeatedly questioned the reliability of the electronic voting system.

Many of his supporters are armed and are calling for a military coup.

"Whether there is a peaceful handover after the election can strengthen or weaken democracy," said Oliver Stuenkel from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation of the German Press Agency.

"And given Brazil's size, that's important for democracy worldwide." The military has announced that it will independently monitor and check the elections by means of random sampling.

This is reported by the

portal .

If the official result differs from their count, the military wants to object to the election.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro greets his supporters during a campaign rally in Sao Paulo.

Brazilians will decide their future in this Sunday's presidential election.

© Marcelo Cello/dpa

Brazil election: Bolsonaro's presidency is shaking

First message:

Brasilia – Elections will take place in Brazil next Sunday.

156 million eligible voters are called upon to cast their vote and elect a President.

Recent polls suggest that right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro (PL) faces a loss to left-leaning challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT).

As a precaution, Bolsonaro is fueling doubts about the electoral system in Brazil and even threatening the country's court.

The mood in the country is heated.

At least two Lula supporters have already paid for their support for the opposing candidate with their deaths.

Brazil elections: Challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leads by double digits

The Brazilian presidential candidates (clockwise from left to right): President and candidate for re-election Jair Bolsonaro (PL), former President (2003-2010) and leftist Workers' Party (PT) candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ciro Gomes (PDT ) and Simone Tebet (MDB).

© Miguel SCHINCariol / AFP

also read

Change of mood in Russia: Putin is triggering more and more anger and panic among his own population

“Low-yield nuclear weapons”: Putin vassal Kadyrov calls for drastic measures in Ukraine

Hardly any other election in Brazil's recent history polarized the population so much - and there is a lot at stake.

While there are multiple candidates, polls suggest the decision will fall between two prominent names: right-wing incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and left-wing Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who ruled the country from 2003 to 2010.

In 2018, the ex-president was sentenced to prison and imprisoned for corruption.

However, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict and the founder of the Labor Party PT was released after 580 days.

According to Lula, the procedure was called "politically motivated".

The aim was to prevent his participation in the 2018 presidential election - which Bolsonaro won at the time.

Brazil is divided on both the conviction and the release.

According to current polls, there could be a close outcome with Lula as Bolsonaro's opponent in the presidential election.

The opinion research institute Datafolha determined on Thursday 45 to 47 percent approval for ex-President Lula and 33 percent for right-wing incumbent Bolsonaro.

Although election polls are usually snapshots, they can certainly reveal a trend in the election campaign.

Datalfolha also published another survey that sheds light on the political climate in the country.

According to this, around 70 percent of people in Brazil are afraid of being attacked because of their political views.

That's no coincidence: in the past few months, at least two Lula supporters have been killed by suspected Bolsonaro fans.

Poisonous climate in Brazil elections: Bolsonaro deploys "Trump-like" guns

People walk past a blank billboard in the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil's parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2, 2022 (pictured September 27).

© Brazil, Rio De Janeiro: Silvia Izquierdo/AP/dpa +++ dpa picture radio +++

Like former US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro, faced with an impending defeat in the presidential election, has started to doubt the electoral system - without providing concrete evidence.

Since 1996, Brazil has been using electronic voting machines that undergo annual security tests and are not connected to the internet.

As early as 2018, the right-wing incumbent claimed to have won the then presidential election in the first round – and not just in the runoff.

Bolsonaro is considered an ardent admirer of Trump, which is why critics also refer to him as "Tropical Trump".

The latest claims by the incumbent Brazilian head of state prompted the Supreme Court, which launched preliminary investigations into Bolsonaro.

Brazil elections: Bolsonaro threatens Supreme Court and his political opponents

Around a week before the presidential election, the right-wing politician openly threatened the Supreme Court in Brazil at a campaign event.

"You know that your freedom is being threatened more and more every day by another non-executive branch of the state," Bolsonaro said on Friday, referring to the Supreme Court investigation, as reported by the Brazilian newspaper

.

"And we know that we have to put an end to this abuse." Political opponents are enemies who "must be eradicated from public life," the incumbent said around September.

Something similar was heard from party circles: Francisco Cavalcante, a deputy from Bolsonaro's Partido Liberal party, recently said: "If we don't win at the polls, we'll win with bullets." In addition to the presidential election on October 2, Brazilians can also vote cast their ballots for new governors, senators and members of parliament.

There are also many bizarre candidates, names and slogans.

A candidate of short stature comes up with the slogan "I'm the smallest of your problems".

Other politicians chose the nicknames "Wolverine", "Mario Boss" or "Bill Clinton do Amapá" - according to Brazilian electoral law, candidates are allowed to give themselves nicknames.

(

)