Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula Advance to Presidential Election Runoff - 04/10/2026 - Brazil - Folha de S.Paulo

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), 45, will face President Lula (PT), 80, in the election runoff on Oct. 25.

Shortly after 10 p.m. this Sunday (4), Flávio had 47.07% of valid votes, compared with 45.11% for the PT candidate.

Chosen as his successor by his father, Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence of 27 years and three months for an attempted coup, Flávio was initially met with skepticism even by allies but quickly consolidated his candidacy. Right-wing rivals such as Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema remained below double digits.

The PL senator kept his father out of his campaign advertising, bet on anti-PT sentiment and did not take part in debates, avoiding scrutiny over allegations —such as his relationship with Daniel Vorcaro of Banco Master.

Lula, for his part, had government machinery working in his favor, with a 15% increase in the Bolsa Família program. He was, however, more closely associated with Justice Alexandre de Moraes during the crisis at Brazil’s Supreme Court. He also faces investigations into business dealings involving his son, Lulinha.