Brazil's Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro head to Oct 25 runoff
The gist
Brazil's Lula and senator Flávio Bolsonaro face an Oct 25 runoff after neither cleared 50% in the first round.
Polls show a near-tie, with the Amazon and Meta's platform conduct now central to the race.
How it unfolded
- Oct 4, 2026First round of the presidential election: Flávio Bolsonaro led with 47% to Lula's 45.1%, finishing 2.2 million votes ahead, with neither reaching the 50% needed to win outright.
- Oct 11, 2026Candidates rallied supporters in São Paulo ahead of the runoff; Bolsonaro met reelected São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas along with mayors and city councilors, while Lula headlined a rally on Avenida Paulista.
- Oct 11, 2026The first post-election Datafolha survey showed Bolsonaro ahead in the runoff with 49% of vote intention against 45% for Lula.