This Sunday at 5:00 PM --10:00 PM in mainland Spain-- the polling stations in Brazil have closed after the celebration of the general elections.
Brazilian electoral legislation establishes that the centers only remain open beyond the official hour for people who were already in line to vote at the time of closing.
The country's attention is focused on the presidential elections, in which the outgoing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the Workers' Party (PT), on the left, faces the candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), on the far right, Flávio Bolsonaro.
The latest poll released this Saturday gives Lula a slight advantage over Bolsonaro (43.1-38%). If only valid votes are taken into account, that is, excluding blank, null, and undecided votes, Lula totals 47.8%, while Bolsonaro reaches 42.1%, so the current head of state is only 2.2 points away from winning outright in the first round. If a second round occurs, Lula would receive 47.3% of support and Bolsonaro 43.1%, a distance of 4.2 points.
The mega electoral day this Sunday includes presidential, legislative, and regional elections, and is marked by the strong polarization generated by the two main candidates for the Palácio do Planalto.
In total, more than 1,650 positions are being elected in an election that points to a very close second round between Lula and Flávio, scheduled for October 25. The call has also gained added relevance, as the Brazilian president is one of the few leftist leaders in a region dominated by the far right, to the delight of the Donald Trump Administration.