Brazil: Second-round presidential election vote Oct. 28 /update 11

Event

The second round of Brazil’s presidential election will take place on Sunday, October 28. According to current polls, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro is leading with 57 percent of the vote, compared to the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate Fernando Haddad’s 43 percent. Campaigning by both candidates is ongoing as of October 24 and tensions remain high throughout the country. Hundreds of women marched through cities across Brazil on October 20 against Bolsonaro. Similar rallies are likely in the days leading up to the vote. The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) has also approved the deployment of additional federal troops to 357 locations across the country on Sunday.

There were numerous incidents of political violence confirmed by the police in the weeks after the first round of the elections; additional violence is possible in the days leading up to the vote and after.

Context

The first round of Brazil’s presidential election took place on October 7, with Bolsonaro winning 46 percent of the vote and Haddad winning 29 percent. Bolsonaro is a controversial candidate who has previously criticized democracy and supported extrajudicial violence. Haddad replaced popular former President Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva as the PT candidate, after the latter was ruled ineligible to run due to corruption charges.

Advice

Individuals in Brazil are advised to stay abreast of the political situation, avoid all political gatherings due to the risk of violence, and refrain from discussing politically-sensitive topics, including the election, in public.