LULA. During the campaign, Lula repeated that he was sure to win the Brazilian presidential election this Sunday, October 30, 2022. After the polls, will the election results prove him right?
Lula has been in the lead throughout the presidential campaign, but now is the time to win the most votes at the ballot box. The second round of the presidential election in Brazil puts the country under tension this Sunday, October 30. Lula’s camp still displays its optimism as it did during the campaign, especially the week before the election. “After this long presidential campaign where I had the privilege of meeting millions of Brazilian men and women, and after obtaining nearly 57 million votes in the first round on October 2, I am convinced that from from January 1, 2023, Brazil will once again become the country of all,” he wrote in a column published in The world, Friday, October 28. Before that, the Workers’ Party candidate repeated that he was “sure” of winning the election during interviews given to local media. Lula was confirmed in his speech by the polls which have never ceased to present him as the favorite in the polls with always a few points ahead of the outgoing president. The verdict of this Sunday must finally decide on the victory or the defeat of Lula.
More than affirming his victory even before the ballot is held, Lula presented this scenario as the only option to protect democracy in Brazil against Bolsonaro raised as a symbol of the far right and dictatorship. “This election will define whether we want to live in a democracy or under chaos, neo-fascism. That’s what’s at stake. I hope people choose democracy,” he said a week before the poll. second round in front of a crowd of activists in Sao Paulo.
Lula, in addition to betting on his victory, also anticipated the reaction of his opponent who has long called for the contestation of the results of the election in Brazil if the left-wing candidate returns to power. “If he loses, Bolsonaro must shut up, wait and prepare for another election, not confuse the country,” Lula said in an interview on O Brasil Pod+ October 25. Earlier in the campaign, he also encouraged Jair Bolsonaro to “recognize the results” by sharing his own experience, he who lost the election three times before being elected president of the Federal Republic of Brazil.
What did the poll results say for Lula?
During the week preceding the second round of the presidential election, Lula was still given as the winner of the ballot by all the surveys, more or less ahead of his rival, outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro. The latest polls published on October 27 by Datafolha and Atlas credited Lula with 53% of valid voting intentions against 47% for Bolsonaro.