Brazil’s left-wing former president Lula da Silva won the first round of the presidential election on October 2 with 48.43% of the vote.
Lula got over 6 million more votes than far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who earned 43.20%.
This put Lula just shy of the 50% he needed to avoid a runoff, which means the candidates will compete in round two on October 30.
To analyze the election results and what they mean for not just Brazil, but also Latin America and the world as a whole, Multipolarista editor Ben Norton spoke with journalist Camila Escalante, of Kawsachun News, who is reporting on the ground in São Paulo.
Escalante discussed what social movements in Brazil like the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) are saying, and why they are supporting Lula.
She also addresses how Bolsonaro’s policies have devastated Brazil’s economy, under the watch of Chicago Boy economic minister Paulo Guedes, an alumnus of the neoliberal University of Chicago who taught economics under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
Peace Patriot
2022-10-04 at 09:45
Thank you so much for this detailed analysis of the Lulu/Bolsinaro runoff! It helps me not to despair! It seems to me that Lulu and the Workers Party should rightfully receive 95% of Brazilian votes. It’s important to me to understand why they didn’t. Camilla’s great at clarifying such questions.
You mentioned the Guido endorsement of Bolsinaro. To me, Guido = CIA. I’m interested to know how much CIA overt and covert interference is occurring in this political struggle in Brazil. I’m specifically puzzled by Bolsinaro’s (spoken, if not felt) support of the Global South anti-U.S. imperialism movement. Brazil’s votes/abstentions at the UN on U.S. anti-Russia resolutions were/are important to that movement. I saw your report on Lulu’s call for a Latin American currency and de-dollarization. Does Bolsinaro support such measures? How sincere is Bolsinaro in opposing the U.S.? How sincere is Lulu, for that matter? What are U.S. intentions in this contest? It seems unthinkable that they would support Lulu. Is it?
I don’t doubt Lulu’s sincerity in representing the interests of the 95%. Not at all. The man has great heart and is an amazing survivor. But the current global political atmosphere is extremely tricky and perilous for Global South countries. What kind of tightrope is Lula walking on this matter? And, is Bolsinaro playacting (as a Global South supporter)? Also, how do U.S. sanctions on Russia affect Brazil? Is it an issue there?
Luana
2022-10-04 at 09:53
Lula obtuvo una excelente victoria ( round 1 ) y esto ocurrió en un escenario en el que los principales medios de comunicación brasileños -que durante décadas han degradado la conciencia social de la población- intentaron incansablemente denigrar la imagen de Lula. Así que la victoria del expresidente Lula también representa la victoria contra la hipocresía de los medios de comunicación del país.