Brazil heads to run-off between Lula and pro-Trump Senator Flavio Bolsonaro - South China Morning Post
Igor Patrickin Rio de JaneiroPublished: 1:48am, 5 Oct 2026Updated: 9:45am, 5 Oct 2026Brazil’s presidential election will go to a run-off on October 25 between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who has promised the Trump administration access to Brazil’s rare earths to cut US reliance on China.
Asked about the vote on Thursday before boarding his helicopter, US President Donald Trump said he was following it “very closely”.
“It’s a very important country. The people of Brazil are fantastic,” he said, without endorsing either candidate, something he did in recent elections in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Honduras and Costa Rica.
With 99.9 per cent of ballots counted, Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, had 47.07 per cent of valid votes and Lula 45.11 per cent, triggering an automatic run-off.
