Brazil votes for new president; far-right Bolsonaro in lead

Brazilians began casting ballots Sunday in their most divisive presidential election in years, with a far-right politician promising an iron-fisted crackdown on crime, Jair Bolsonaro, the firm favorite in the first round.

Surveys suggest the 63-year-old former paratrooper, who wants to cut spiralling debt through sweeping privatization and embrace the US and Israel, could count on more than one in three voters in the vast Latin American nation.

But at least as many in the 147 million strong electorate reject the veteran federal lawmaker.

He is known for repeated offensive comments against women, gays and the poor, and for lauding the military dictatorship Brazil shucked off just three decades ago.

If Bolsonaro gets more than 50 percent of the vote to lead the field of 13 candidates, he will win the presidency outright. Otherwise, a run-off will be held on October 28.

Analysts say a first-round victory for Bolsonaro is possible – but unlikely.

The last surveys released late Saturday credited Bolsonaro with 36 percent against 22 percent for his nearest rival, leftist former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad.

With blank and invalid votes stripped out, Bolsonaro could pocket 40-41 percent of the vote to 25 percent for Haddad, polling firms Ibope and Datafolha said.

A run-off was seen as too close to call, given the two-point margin of error, though Bolsonaro was seen with a small edge: 45 percent, to 41-43 percent for Haddad.

Voting began at 8:00 am (11:00 GMT) under tight security. Initial results were expected shortly after the last polling stations close at 22:00 GMT in the western Amazonian state of Acre.

Haddad, 55, has picked up support that still exists for leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Workers Party icon jailed for corruption who was declared ineligible from making a comeback because of a failed appeal.

Brazil lived through its economic heyday during Lula’s 2003-10 presidency, but plunged into its worst-ever recession under his chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff. She was impeached and booted from office in 2016 for financial wrongdoing.

Many blame the Workers Party for the country’s current economic malaise.

The result is one of the most polarized elections Brazil has seen. Voter rejection of the two leading candidates is bigger than their polled support.