Brazil goes to polls in decisive election for future of Latin America

Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro face off in battle between leftwing incumbent and far-right son of jailed ex-president

Brazilians go to the polls on Sunday in the first round of a highly polarised and high-stakes presidential election that could change not only the direction of Latin America’s largest country but that of the entire region.

The election pits the leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term, against the far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of Donald Trump and the son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after his failed 2022 re-election attempt.