Brazilian voters hopeful, fearful in equal measure
SAO PAULO — With some voters hoping for a fresh start and others fearing the worst is yet to come, Brazilians cast ballots on Sunday in a divisive election that comes on the heels of major political scandals and economic decline.
In a national address, Justice Rosa Weber said Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right congressman, had 46.7 percent compared to 28.5 percent for former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad, the leftist stand-in for jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio da Silva, who was barred from running.
The country’s Superior Electoral Tribunal announced the results late Sunday after all the votes were counted. The runoff between the two is scheduled for Oct. 28.
The starkly competing visions of the candidates have alienated as many people as they have attracted, bringing to the surface deep divisions along the lines of class, race, sexual orientation and “traditional values.”
A year ago, many believed that “throw-the-bums-out” rage would buoy the chances of an outsider and end the hegemony of the center-left Workers’ Party and the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party, which have for years battled for the presidency.
Like much in this election, it hasn’t turned out as predicted. The man who has benefited most from widespread anger in the electorate is a 27year veteran of Congress — Mr. Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party — whose outsider status is based largely on hard-right positions. His campaign has included praise for a military dictatorship, insults to women and gay people, and calls to fight crime by loosening controls on already deadly police forces.
The Workers’ Party’s Mr. Haddad was appointed by Mr. da Silva after the former president’s candidacy was barred earlier this year.
“The Workers’ Party is the party of corruption,” said Sergio Cervone, a 54year-old doctor in Sao Paulo who voted for Mr. Bolsonaro. “Despite all his years in Congress, [Mr. Bolsonaro] was never involved in any corruption crimes.”
Enzo Vito, a 20-year-old student voting in the same place, had a different take: Brazil’s biggest problem is inequality, which the Workers’ Party has worked to eradicate.
“The Workers’ Party is the only party that wants to make use of all that this country has to offer,” said Mr. Vito, who voted for the party’s standard bearer,
But many voters expressed dismay at the choices before them.
Aurea Ferreira, a 39-yearold psychologist, said she voted for former Sao Paulo Gov. Gerlado Alckmin, from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, “out of a lack of choices.”
“I will abstain in the second round,” she said.
After voting in Sao Paulo, Mr. Haddad spoke briefly with reporters. However, his voice was drowned out as detractors banged pots in nearby buildings and supporters chanted that he would be president, a vivid display of a deeply polarized electorate.