The day has arrived.
This Sunday, October 2, more than 156 million Brazilians attend the first round of a decisive general election.
The main candidates, according to the polls, are the far-right and current president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking re-election, and the leftist Lula da Silva, former president between 2003 and 2011. The same polls give a clear advantage to the candidate of the Workers' Party , even with the possibility of exceeding 50% of the valid votes needed to gain access to the presidency in the first round.
Follow the elections live on EL PAÍS:
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Voting Instructions
The voter must press five number combinations to choose their candidates in the electronic ballot box.
Instructions circulate in whatsapp groups so as not to make mistakes.
Federico Rivas12:30
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Dilma Rousseff confident of a victory in the first round
Former president Dilma Rousseff, Lula's successor, voted this morning in Belo Horizonte, in the center of the country.
"My expectation is that she wins democracy and that means a victory for Lula in the first round," she said, upon arriving at the polling station.
When asked if she would accept a position in a future Lula government, she answered vaguely: "I was already president, so let's go slowly."
Rousseff, whose mandate is associated with the economic crisis and the 'Lava Jato' corruption scandal, was ousted from power in 2018 through a controversial 'impeachment'.
In this campaign, she has had a supporting role, with a handful of appearances at political rallies.
You can read more about Rousseff here.
Jon Martin Cullell12:20
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Vote Jair Bolsonaro
The president of Brazil, who is up for re-election, has voted in a school in Rio de Janeiro, the city where he has his electoral residence. He arrived wearing the yellow jersey of the Brazilian soccer team, a symbol that the extreme right has appropriated for the bell.
After casting his vote, Bolsonaro will travel to Brasilia, the country's federal capital.
His campaign team reported that the president will await the results at the Palacio de la Alvorada.
The president is not giving up.
In front of the ballot box, he again questioned the transparency of the elections, although in a more subtle way than during the campaign, when he bluntly attacked the Superior Electoral Court and the security of the electronic ballot boxes.
"With clean elections, may the best win without any problem," Bolsonaro said after casting his vote.
Federico Rivas12:02
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Lula votes in his old union fiefdom
Lula da Silva, favorite in all the polls, has just voted in São Bernardo do Campo, the municipality near São Paulo where he developed his career as a union leader.
The candidate was accompanied by his wife Janja;
Vice President candidate Geraldo Alckmin;
and the aspiring governor of the State, Fernando Haddad.
To learn more about this municipality and the union's struggle to maintain its industrial presence, consult this report: Lula's metallurgical union, waiting for a victory in the face of decline.
Jon Martin Cullell11:59
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The vote of Brazilians in Spain
According to the National Institute of Statistics, in 2021 there were 95,433 Brazilians in Spain.
Voting is also mandatory for Brazilians living abroad, and not voting complicates other procedures later (such as passport renewal).
Brazilians residing in Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Murcia, Navarra, La Rioja, the Valencian Community and the Basque Country (as well as those living in Andorra) are already voting in Barcelona (
Avinguda del Paral lel, 205
, on the premises of the Fair of Barcelona);
the rest (including residents of the Canary Islands) vote at the Casa do Brasil college (
avenida de la Memoria, 3
), in Madrid's Ciudad Universitaria.
Both schools are open until 5:00 p.m.
Today in Madrid, with a sunny and somewhat cool day, hundreds of people have already been coming since early in the morning to vote at the Casa do Brasil, where they have found hustle and bustle but (around 11:00) few queues.
The political polarization was somewhat more noticeable in the voters' clothing (some with pins and t-shirts indicating their preference for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, others for Jair Bolsonaro) but, otherwise, a calm and cordial atmosphere.
In the second round of the 2018 elections, 3,917 voters (24.8% of those registered) went to the polls in Madrid.
Jair Bolsonaro won with 53.8% of the votes compared to 36.15% for Fernando Haddad.
In Barcelona, 1,644 voters (39.2%) participated, and Haddad won with 47.4% of the vote against 40.7% for Bolsonaro.
In the photo, voters in front of the Casa do Brasil college, this morning in Madrid.
Thiago Ferrer11:46
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Chronicle | Lula caresses the return to power in Brazil through the front door
Doña Lindu's son made history two decades ago, when he became the first president of Brazil without a university degree, the first worker at the pinnacle of power in an unequal and classist country like few others.
He now has the opportunity to offer his compatriots a new horizon and rewrite the last chapter of his story.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (76 years old, Garanhuns, Pernambuco) caresses his return to the presidency through the front door this Sunday.
If the portrait emanating from the polls for months is correct, the leftist will defeat President Jair Messias Bolsonaro, 67, of the extreme right.
It would mean the return of the progressives to the Government after the trauma of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, in 2016, and the great culmination of the turn to the left in Latin America,
By Naiara Galarraga Gortázar
Federico Rivas11:39
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The president of the electoral court promises a "calm and safe Sunday"
Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court, has stated that "justice continues to work so that everyone has a calm and safe Sunday".
The magistrate and the institution he presides over have become unusual protagonists of this campaign, as our colleague Naiara Galarraga tells us in this chronicle.
The far-right Jair Bolsonaro has spent weeks criticizing De Moraes for allegedly unfavorable treatment.
In addition, he has questioned the use of electronic ballot boxes and has not wanted to clarify whether he will recognize the results if he loses in the first round.
Jon Martin Cullell11:38
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Who are the candidates?
The presidential race is dominated by Lula and Bolsonaro, although two intermediate options have tried to make their way.
Here's a reminder of who the top four candidates are:
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (left).
The founder and candidate of the Workers' Party has raised the achievements of his government (2003-2010), including the escape of millions of Brazilians from poverty thanks to Bolsa Familia and other social programs.
He now promises to raise the minimum wage above inflation and raise taxes on the rich.
Jair Bolsonaro (far right).
The current president, from the Liberal Party, faces a complicated re-election.
He has been stagnant for several months with little more than 30% of preferences and a high rejection among voters, especially women.
To make a comeback, the far-right candidate of the Liberal Party -- a formation of the old politics that he criticized so much -- has tried to revive anti-PT sentiment
Ciro Gomes (centre left).
The candidate of the Labor Democratic Party (PDT, for its acronym in Portuguese), is third in the race, but very far from the headliners.
The polls give him about 6% of the vote.
Still, Gomes has resisted calls from some sectors on the left to step down and facilitate a Lula victory in the first round.
The center-left politician maintains a critical discourse both with Lula, of which he was minister, and with Bolsonaro.
Simone Tebet (centre right).
The current senator, from the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), collects around 5% of preferences in the first round.
Like Ciro Gomes, the center-right candidate defends a third way between Bolsonaro and Lula, criticizing the machismo of the former and the corruption during the government of the latter.
Jon Martin Cullell11:22
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Polling stations open
Good day.
I am Jon Martín-Cullell and I will accompany you this morning from São Paulo to tell you about election day.
At this time, 8:00 in the morning (Brasilia time), the polling stations in Brazil have opened.
Until 5:00 p.m., 156 million people are called to vote in close elections, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva starts as the clear favorite against Jair Bolsonato.
The main unknown is whether he will achieve the 50% of the valid votes necessary to avoid a second round.
Our colleague Thiago Ferrer Morini voted two hours ago in Madrid, at the Casa do Brasil College of the University City.
Here he explains his experience:
Jon Martin Cullell11:01
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Profile |
Lula, a resurrection
Few people have traveled the world so much and seen as little outside of hotels, palaces and offices as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (76 years old, Garanhuns, Pernambuco).
He was already the former president of Brazil when, on an official trip to India, he did not reserve a single moment outside the official agenda, not even to make a brief getaway and visit one of the most beautiful monuments in the world.
“In recent years, Lula has done nothing but politics.
He does not take advantage of any trip to see anything.
In India he did not even see the Taj Mahal.
He stayed in the hotel receiving politicians, ”reveals his biographer and friend Fernando Morais, who has followed in his footsteps for a decade, over the phone.
By
Naiara Galarraga
from São Paulo.
Read the full article here
In the image, Lula da Silva seen by
Sciammarella.
THE COUNTRY10:30
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Profile |
Bolsonaro, destruction as a strategy
The event that has probably marked the life of Jair Messias Bolsonaro most intensely occurred in 1970 in the small town where he lived with his brothers and his parents, an unlicensed dentist who, to earn a living, ventured as a gold prospector and a housewife who had such a bad pregnancy that she wanted to baptize him as Messias because he considered his birth a miracle.
The given name, Jair, is for a soccer player.
By
Naiara Galarraga
from São Paulo.
Read the full article here
In the image, Jair Bolsonaro seen by Sciammarella.
THE COUNTRY09:57
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Video analysis |
What scenarios are there for Brazil after the elections?
By
Naiara Galarraga
.
Brazil arrives at the elections this Sunday with a country clearly divided between the followers of President Jair Bolsonaro and the contender Lula da Silva.
The latest polls mark the current president with a 31% preference of the vote compared to 48% for the leftist, opening the possibility of a close victory in the first electoral round.
Here you can see the full video analysis
THE COUNTRY07:07
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Opinion | Lula, the Brazilian Phoenix that calls itself “a walking metamorphosis”
At 76 years old and after spending 20 months in jail, the young union leader who terrorized businessmen by taking a million metalworkers out on strike, is once again fighting for the presidency of Brazil.
By
Juan Arias
.
Photo: Reuters
Santiago Torrado03:40
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How do you vote in Brazil?
Voting is mandatory for Brazilians between 18 and 69 years old, and optional for young people between 16 and 17 years old, as well as for those over 70. To access the ballot box, voters must present a document with a photo to prove their identity .
You can check your polling station on the website of the Superior Electoral Tribunal.
There are five positions in dispute in these elections: federal deputy, state deputy, senator, governor and president.
In the electronic ballot box the options are displayed in that order.
The voter must enter the number of his candidate and verify his name and photograph to confirm his vote.
Lula da Silva, for example, is number 13;
Jair Bolsonaro, on 22. The use of cell phones is not allowed in the voting booth, which must be left beforehand at the voting table.
Santiago Torrado02:56
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25 years without fraud: this is how Brazilian electronic ballot boxes work
El presidente Jair Bolsonaro emprendió hace ya más de un año una campaña para sembrar dudas sobre la seguridad del sistema de votación que ha calado en parte de los brasileños y ha dado un protagonismo inédito a las urnas electrónicas. Los 156 millones de electores tendrán que teclear este domingo cinco conjuntos de números, uno para cada candidato y, al ver la foto de su político, apretarán un botón verde para confirmar su elección. Lea aquí las claves de las urnas electrónicas.
Foto: Getty.
Santiago Torrado02:32
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¿Cuándo está prevista la segunda vuelta?
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva bordea o supera el 50% de los votos válidos en varias de las últimas encuestas, lo que mantiene abierta la posibilidad de que su pulso con el presidente Jair Bolsonaro se resuelva en primera vuelta. Si ninguno de los candidatos presidenciales supera la mitad de los votos válidos este domingo, la segunda vuelta entre los dos primeros se disputará el domingo 30 de octubre. Es el mismo sistema para los gobernadores de los 27 Estados que serán elegidos.
Santiago Torrado01:52
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¿Cuáles son los horarios de las elecciones en Brasil?
Las urnas se abren por un periodo de 9 horas, entre las 8.00 y las 17.00 horas, en apego al horario de Brasilia, la capital federal. Todos los votantes acuden en simultaneo, así haya diferencia entre las franjas horarias en un país de dimensiones continentales. Se espera que una hora después del cierre de urnas se conozcan los primeros resultados de la jornada electoral.
Santiago Torrado01:33
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Bolsonaro lamenta rechazo a asilo que Brasil ofreció a boliviana Jeanine Áñez
El presidente brasileño, Jair Bolsonaro, quien busca la reelección, lamentó este sábado la decisión del Gobierno de Bolivia de rechazar el asilo que le ofreció a la exmandataria Jeanine Áñez, condenada a diez años de prisión en su país, al leer una carta en que la boliviana le agradece el gesto. "La expresidenta está presa, pero no por corrupción sino por supuestos actos antidemocráticos. Una vez tuve contacto con ella. Interferí. Busqué la forma de traerla aquí, darle asilo. Pero por ahora nada”, afirmó el líder de ultraderecha en una transmisión en directo en sus redes sociales (EFE).
Santiago Torrado01:02
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Entrevista | “La vida de los negros en Brasil seguirá siendo dura”
En un país donde más de la mitad de la población se autodefine como negro o mestizo (56%), los favoritos para llegar a la Presidencia de Brasil en las elecciones de este domingo son hombres blancos: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva y Jair Bolsonaro. También sus fórmulas vicepresidenciales. En el primer debate, no solo no había ningún candidato negro, tampoco había ningún periodista negro, subraya Pedro Borges, cofundador y editor de Alma Preta, una agencia especializada en la temática racial. “El racismo en Brasil es tan fuerte que el segmento más grande de la población es tratado como una minoría”, apunta Borges en esta entrevista con EL PAÍS.
Foto: Alma Preta (Cortesía).
Santiago Torrado24:45
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Lula llega a la primera vuelta con el 51% de votos válidos, según Ipec
The latest survey by the firm Ipec, released this Saturday as that of Datafolha, gives Lula da Silva 51% of the valid votes, which would be enough to resolve his dispute with President Jair Bolsonaro, who has 37 votes, in the first round. % in that calculation.
Both Simone Tebet and Ciro Gomes appear tied with 5%.
Earlier we reviewed the latest Datafolha measurement, which gives Lula 50% of the valid votes for 36% of Bolsonaro.
Santiago Torrado24:25
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