SAO PAULO — Brazilians head to the polls on Sunday in a tight runoff vote that could shift Latin America’s largest nation sharply rightward, bringing it closer to the United States as part of a broader conservative shift across the region.
\n\nThe runoff pits leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro. Flavio scored a major upset at the start of the month by defying pollsters to lead voting in the first round.
\n\nA victory for Bolsonaro, 45, would extend a wave of right-wing victories for Latin American candidates friendly to US President Donald Trump, while a fourth mandate for Lula would be a disappointment in Washington, which has clashed with his government over trade and security.
\n\nThe election race has been dominated by corruption scandals, economic anxiety and accusations of U.S. meddling, which Washington denies. It has also been colored by fallout from Jair Bolsonaro’s 2025 conviction for plotting a 2022 coup, with Flavio pledging to free his father if he is elected.
\n\nTrump has called the case a “witch hunt” and imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil in 2025, in a decision explicitly linked to Jair…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/