Brazil: First round of Electoral Farce

Featured image: the two presidential candidates Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula. Source: AND

On October 4, the first round of the current electoral farce took place in Brazil. None of the candidates reached the votes 50% required to win outright. As such a second round has been called for October 25.

The two candidates passing on to the second round are the expected Lula, who is currently president, and Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Jair Bolsonaro. Of the two Flavio, who keeps promising to be like his dad, came out ahead by a wider margin than expected by most analysts.

A Nova Democracia has published an analysis, that highlights, that it is the masses’ rejection of the current government that led to this victory. Lula has lost around 3,4 million votes as compared to the last election in 2022. While some of these votes may be included in the 5 million Flavio gained as compared to his farther, another important factor is the increase in voter abstention. According to official statistics 33 million registered voters did not show up.

A Nova Democracia however highlights that this number is misleading. They have prepared an analysis, which also includes voting-age population that did not register and Brazilians living abroad and registered but did not vote. The actual number of the boycott reach more than 51,8 million, which corresponds to more than 30% of the population. We have also been reporting on actions realized in different parts of Brazil, supporting this campaign of boycott.

A Nova Democracia also notes, that both support for Flavio and electoral boycott are more represented in poorer areas. This is a sign of rejection of the current government.

Flavio goes into the second round millions of votes ahead and with the explicit backing of the Trump regime in the US. He has promised to increase the repression against the popular movements, mentioning especially the League of Poor Pesants (LCP), calling them “terrorists”.

Still, in the end it is not the elections that bring change. A Nova Democracia underlines the following about the fascist tendencies of the Bolsonaros:

“The only arena where the struggle is decided, even more so in this case, is the real class struggle, specifically the struggle for Agrarian Revolution, in which the peasant masses and their armed self-defense forces are fighting the local leaders of Bolsonaro’s supporters and their small paramilitary armies.”