A far-right candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, has won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.
He will face the left-wing Workers’ Party candidate, Fernando Haddad, in the second round on 28 October after he failed to win the 50% of valid votes needed to win outright.
With almost all the votes counted, Mr Bolsonaro had 46% and Mr Haddad 29%.
Opinion polls conducted before the election predicted that in a second round the two candidates would be tied.
A far-right candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, has won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.
He will face the left-wing Workers’ Party candidate, Fernando Haddad, in the second round on 28 October after he failed to win the 50% of valid votes needed to win outright.
With almost all the votes counted, Mr Bolsonaro had 46% and Mr Haddad 29%.
Opinion polls conducted before the election predicted that in a second round the two candidates would be tied.
The former army captain has made provocative statements on a huge range of issues.
He has pledged tough punishments for offenders and the relaxing of gun ownership. He has also spoken of torture as a legitimate practice and wants to restore the death penalty.
His hard-line approach to law and order has brought back memories of the two-decade military dictatorship, and earned him backing from the military and those demanding greater safety in a country with rising levels of violent crime.
Misogynistic and homophobic rhetoric has prompted outrage and protests, and he has taken a strong anti-abortion stance.
Like Mr Trump, Mr Bolsonaro has criticised the Paris climate agreement, and he has vowed to make Brazil great again.
Economically, he favours a smaller state. He has announced plans to lower taxes, privatise state companies and limit foreign ownership of natural resources.
The candidate believes selling off companies will help fight government corruption – one of the focuses of Operation Car Wash, a massive corruption investigation.
Mr Bolsonaro was stabbed on the campaign trail, drawing intense media attention to him and his policies. (Excerpts from BBC)
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