Brazil’s presidential election has delivered a shock: right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump, won the first round of the 2026 presidential election on Sunday, finishing ahead of leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and forcing a runoff on October 25.
With the vote count almost complete, Bolsonaro led with about 47 percent of the vote against Lula’s 44.9 percent, according to data from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court. Neither candidate crossed the 50 percent threshold required for an outright win, so the two will face each other again in three weeks in an election set against corruption scandals, deep polarization and growing voter fatigue.
FAKTA
- Election: First round of Brazil’s 2026 presidential election, held Sunday, 4 October 2026.
- Winner: Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Liberal Party), 45, with about 47% of the vote — ahead of the polls, which had shown Lula narrowly leading.
- Runner-up: Incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party), 80, with 44.9%.
- Next step: A runoff election on 25 October 2026 between Bolsonaro and Lula.
- Backdrop: Corruption scandals, crime, US tariff pressure on Brazil, and deep political polarization shaped the campaign.
Flávio Bolsonaro addresses supporters during the 2026 campaign. The senator dramatically outperformed the final polls to finish first. (Photo: Watan News)
Surprise First-Round Win Defies the Polls
Bolsonaro’s first-place finish stunned observers. In polls right up until Saturday, Lula was narrowly leading, with most pollsters showing the two neck and neck. Instead, the conservative challenger emerged as the clear leader, confirming that his dramatic late-campaign surge had gone considerably further than the polling had captured.
“It’s two competing visions of what the country should look like and what Latin America should look like,” Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly and vice president of policy at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, told CNN.
Speaking to supporters in Brasília, Flávio Bolsonaro described his result as “the end of the PT era,” a reference to Lula’s Workers’ Party, adding that he “can’t wait to regain democracy in three weeks.” He repeated one of his campaign’s central proposals — ending presidential re-election: “I only need one term.”
Lula, who came in second, told supporters at a hotel in São Paulo late Sunday that he had not expected the result. “I confess I was convinced I would win the election in the first round,” he said. “Starting tomorrow, we begin a new campaign.”
The Trump Factor
The choice facing Brazilians extends well beyond domestic politics and could reshape how Brazil positions itself on the global stage. The result may influence whether the region’s largest country tilts toward a growing conservative bloc aligned with Trump or continues Lula’s pursuit of a multipolar foreign policy.
Lula’s relationship with Trump soured as Brazil became caught up in the US president’s tariff agenda. In the summer of 2025, Trump announced tariffs on many Brazilian goods while explicitly citing what his administration called the politically motivated prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro; those tariffs were later rolled back in November. Fresh tariffs imposed this summer on certain Brazilian goods remain in effect, and Lula has rejected the measures and threatened to retaliate against the US.
Flávio Bolsonaro has taken a markedly different approach, cultivating ties with Trump and other leaders Lula has clashed with. In May, he met Trump in the Oval Office to discuss organized crime, tariffs and critical minerals, then met Vance and Rubio the next day.
A Bolsonaro victory would cement a broader move to the right seen across Latin America: right-wing firebrand Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly won Colombia’s presidential election in June, and Keiko Fujimori won Peru’s runoff weeks later by roughly a tenth of a percentage point.
Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, will face Lula in the October 25 runoff. (Photo: Watan News)
A Polarized, Fatigued Electorate
Security and crime have been the main issues powering Latin America’s right, and Brazil is no exception. Much like his father, Flávio has made a tougher approach to crime central to his campaign, advocating the designation of major criminal factions as terrorist organizations, new federal prisons, and lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16.
Corruption ranks among voters’ biggest concerns, yet neither camp can claim the issue as its own. Brasília has been consumed by investigations surrounding the collapse of Brazilian bank Banco Master and its former chief executive Daniel Vorcaro. As investigators reviewed Vorcaro’s messages, the scandal spread to Flávio’s own campaign — he is now under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering related to financing provided for “Dark Horse,” a film about Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio has denied wrongdoing.
The four other presidential hopefuls trailed far behind: centrist psychiatrist Augusto Cury, right-wing former Goiás governor Ronaldo Caiado, Renan Santos of the Missão party, and former Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema are all eliminated.
The right also won a string of governorships and Senate seats on Sunday. Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party won at least five governorships in the first round, and the party secured at least 16 of the 54 Senate seats up for grabs, according to partial results.
Winter described the electorate’s mood as an “apathetic polarization,” where Brazilians are still wearing the shirt of their team politically — “but they’re doing it without much enthusiasm.” With about 160 million eligible voters, Brazil’s runoff in three weeks will decide which vision of the country wins.
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