Jair BolsonaroBrazil’s leader endorsed by former US President donald trump, follows his left competitor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the presidential elections of the South American country.
What happened: Da Silva, popularly known as Lula, failed to secure enough votes for an outright victory and will face Bolsonaro in a runoff on October 30. reported NPR.
The race between the two Brazilian leaders was close, with Da Silva, a former president, winning almost 47.9% after 97% of the vote was counted. Bolsonaro was 43.6% behind, according to the report.
The campaign is now set to continue for the next four weeks, NPR reported.
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Why it matters: Sunday’s elections were reportedly largely peaceful, but they did happen cases of violence in the run-up to the elections.
In early September, Trump extended his support for Bolsonaro on Truth Social. He said the leader is affectionately referred to as “Tropical Trump.”
The former US President had said: “President Bolsonaro loves Brazil more than anything. He is a wonderful man and has my complete and unreserved approval!!”
On Sunday night, Trump said on Truth Social that Bolsonaro “far outperformed” “inaccurate fake news media polls” and got caught in a two-person runoff.
“Now that other conservatives are out, President Bolsonaro is in a very strong position to win BIG.”
Screenshot of Donald Trump’s “Truth Social Account”.
Truth Social is part of Trump media and technology groupwhich is to go public through a merger Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC.
Opinion polls gave Da Silva an advantage, with the latest Datafolha poll released on Saturday showing a 50% to 36% advantage for the left leader, according to a Cut NPR report
Continue reading: Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 misinformation akin to crime, say Brazilian police
