Brazil voted on Sunday in a presidential first round that polls showed was too close to call. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faced Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of jailed ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.Final polls put Lula narrowly ahead. A CNT/MDA survey gave Lula 47.8 percent of valid votes against 42.1 percent for Bolsonaro.

Datafolha and AtlasIntel showed a similar gap, while one Quaest poll had Bolsonaro fractionally ahead.If no candidate passes 50 percent of valid votes, the top two advance to a runoff on October 25. Every major poll pointed to that outcome. Runoff surveys showed Lula and Bolsonaro within the margin of error of each other.The elder Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup after losing in 2022.

His son has promised to pardon him if elected. US President Trump has openly backed the Bolsonaro camp, which Lula calls foreign interference.The campaign has split Latin America’s largest country. The result will shape trade, climate policy and Brazil’s role in global diplomacy.