Flavio Bolsonaro wins Lula da Silva by two points and they will fight for the Brazilian presidency in the second round

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face each other in a run-off on October 25, according to official results from the presidential election held this Sunday.

The eldest son ofultra-right-wing former ruler Jair Bolsonaro  (47.03% of the vote) and progressive leader (45.16%) were by far the two main candidates in the state leadership election, and by less than two points, with the smallest difference ever, the first to prevail.

Flavio Bolsonaro has been ahead of Lula in the entire count, with worse results than in the first round of 2022, when he won 48.4% and 57.2 million votes.

Jair Bolsonaro's eldest son won more than 56 million ballots this Sunday, 2.3 million more than Lula, and five million more than his father won in the first round of 2022.

In the early hours of the count, it looked like Bolsonaro was going to win in the first round, because he had more than half the votes. But it lost strengthas the votes entered the northeastern region, the political stronghold of the Brazilian left.

Behind the two candidates were psychiatrist and writer Augusto Cury (2.89%), ultra Renan Santos (2.24%), former conservative governor of Goias Ronaldo Caiado (2.18%) and former liberal governor of Gerais Romeu Zema (0.27%).

Abstention reached 21%, although citizens are forced to vote.

Second round

Polls predict a close rivalry for the second round between the current president and his son, Bolsonaro, appointed by the ultra former president to the Liberal Party.

Lula wants a fourth term at 80.

The historic leader of the Workers' Party (PT) has based his campaign on current management , with economic growth above 2%, unemployment at the lowest levels in history and a sharp increase in the wage mass.

In the final days of his campaign, he announced important measures such as a 15% increase in the government's social assistance program and a ban on sports betting and online casinos.

Jair Bolsonaro's son, who is serving 27 years in prison for beatings , has pledged to fight organized crime and cut public spending and taxes.

"Unexpected" for Lula, call for change for Bolsonaro

Lula acknowledged that the result was "unexpected," and admitted that he hoped to win in the first round. The president defended his government's management and proposals for a new term based on education, science, technology, industry, and student support programs. He also strongly criticized Flavio Bolsonaro, whom he associated with various scandals, and questioned his political relations.

Meanwhile, according to Flavio Bolsonaro, it has become clear that "Brazil wants change," and the more than 56 million votes won show support for his project. The Liberal candidate defended a government with fewer ministries, called for a victory that would make it possible to "end the era" of Lula.