On October 25, Brazilian presidential candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro will face each other again in the second round of Brazil’s elections, according to results published by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE). By Sunday night, with 99.99% of the vote counted, Bolsonaro (far-right Liberal Party) held 47.03% of the votes (56,104,049), followed by the long-time leader of the Workers’ Party with 45.16% (53,876,219).Bolsonaro maintained a lead throughout the count, registering percentages above 48% for much of the night. Lula started around 40% but gained ground, cutting Flávio Bolsonaro’s initial advantage by more than eight points. Bolsonaro is heading to the runoff with a gap of roughly two points, in a scenario that second-round polls had already shown as tied. Brazil’s northeast was the base of the comeback, so its turnout will be decisive on the 25th.According to TSE data, with the count almost complete, turnout was 125,265,833 of over 158 million registered voters across 499,248 polling stations. Meanwhile, abstention was 33,467,247 (21.08%). There were 2,300,710 (1.84%) blank votes and 3,673,899 (2.93%) null votes.Lula and the son of former coupist president Jair Bolsonaro will face each other again on October 25 in the second round. The short second electoral campaign will force the progressive side to increase mobilization and find ways to attract votes from independents, the abstentionist sector, or voters whose candidates were eliminated but lean closer to Bolsonaro.Lula: ‘The game is just beginning’ In his first statement after the results were announced, Lula thanked the millions of Brazilians who went to the polls for all offices, while noting the abstention figures.“The game is just beginning. We are in overtime. We will return with full energy, and we will speak about the future,” he said.“The result is often unexpected. We never achieve everything we want. We were convinced we would win in the first round, but that has happened to us before. We have a second round, and it is time for the final test, to show the true image of Brazil, of the Brazil we want. Starting tomorrow, we begin a new campaign,” Lula said before thousands of supporters in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.He emphasized that it will be a campaign between two candidates, “in which we will then be able to expose the differences between the proposals that exist in Brazil,” contrasting the model of Brazil he promotes with that of far-right Bolsonaro.Lula highlighted his Vice President Geraldo Alckmin’s experience leading São Paulo, and his own experience as president with the greatest social changes in Brazil’s history. On the Bolsonarist side, he pointed to “the biography of a dark past, without a promising a future.”“It is clear that we have to show the Brazil we want to build. We will show what was done and what society expects to be done. Brazil must have a future that passes through investment and social development, to become internationally competitive, with the capacity to take a leap so that society can reach a welfare state,” President Lula said.He added that his administrations have “already defeated hunger again and again,” stressing that “what will change this country is education.” He pledged continued investment in education, technology, universities, and in the universalization of programs so young people do not drop out of high school.“We will make full-time schools throughout Brazil and strengthen the recovery of the industrial pole, including biopharmaceuticals. Strengthen the popular pharmacy and other health programs, social inclusion policies,” he said, reaffirming that in his government, “there will be no fiscal-cutting policy that will harm the poor people of this country.”On abstention and the upcoming campaign, he said, “We will call on those people so they know that, at this historical moment, the vote is decisive for the country’s future.”Bolsonaro: fewer ministries In an address devoted to criticizing Lula and his administration, Bolsonaro declared “the end of the PT era” and, among few proposals, “a government with fewer ministries”—saying he is “worried about Brazil’s future.”After expressing his intention to “attack and solve Brazil’s real problems,” Bolsonaro added: “I want the opportunity to take care of Brazil. I want the opportunity to take care of the Brazilian people. I want the opportunity to take care of you who are watching me.” Governorships and Congress In the race for the state governorships, 20 governors were elected in the first round (São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Sergipe, Amapá, Pará, Rondônia, and Roraima). Meanwhile, six states (Acre, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, and Tocantins) and the Federal District will go to a second round.In São Paulo, right-winger Tarcísio de Freitas, an ally of candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, was re-elected over Fernando Haddad of the Workers’ Party (PT). With 90% counted, De Freitas had 62.8% of the vote in the first round, versus 36.2% for the progressive candidate.On the other hand, Rafael Fonteles (PT) reached 70.86% in the election for governor of Piauí, the highest percentage recorded among governors elected in the first round this Sunday. The PT candidate’s winning percentage was followed by Arthur Henrique (PL) in Roraima, with 69.13%; Jorginho Mello (PL) in Santa Catarina, 68.98%; and Eduardo Riedel (PP) in Mato Grosso do Sul, 67.07%. The PT also held Bahia and Ceará.The Shadow of Washington and Tel Aviv Looms Over the Brazilian PollsIn a result favorable to Bolsonarism, the Liberal Party gained seats in both chambers of the Brazilian Congress. In the Chamber of Deputies. Bolsonarism won 131 seats, compared to 235 for centrist parties and 122 for the left. In the Senate, the PL won 33 seats, 10 more than in 2022. The center won 31 seats, up from 13 previously, and the left won 15, gaining three seats.(Alba Ciudad)Translation: Orinoco TribuneOT/JRE/SF