BRASILIA, Brazil – Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has pulled off a surprisingly strong showing in Brazil’s first round of presidential elections, giving him momentum in the weeks before an Oct. 25 runoff against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has allied himself with the Trump administration at a moment when Trump allies are taking power in Latin America, while Lula has spoken out against U.S. interference in the Brazilian elections and built a stronger relationship with Beijing.
In a tight race on Sunday, Bolsonaro garnered 47% of the vote to the president’s 45%. Since neither candidate secured an absolute majority, they will face off again in three weeks. Bolsonaro bested Lula by just 2.2 million votes, while other candidates who ran divided 9 million votes between them, leaving those potentially up for grabs.
The winner of Brazil’s first round of voting has never lost an election, though never before has the second-place candidate been so close in the results.