Brazil Goes To The Polls Amidst Rising Polarization, Protests Against Populist Frontrunner

As The Guardian's Dom Philips explains, tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets in recent days to protest the upcoming election's frontrunner, Jair Bolsonaro. A very diverse crowd went out in some of the country's largest cities with the slogan Ele Nao ("Not Him"), to make a statement against the leader's extremist positions and hate-infused discourse.

In a week, Brazil will hold elections for up to 1600 high level positions, including President, two thirds of the Senate seats, and over 500 federal deputies. 

Bolsonaro is leading the polls, with 28% of vote intention, followed by Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad with 22%. The presidential contest will likely require a second round later in October. Bolsonaro has stoked division throughout the campaign, not only defending the military dictatorship (1964-1985), but also proposing that the police have license to kill in a country with 60,000 annual homicides. His vice-presidential nominee, Anthony Hamilton, has argued in favor of a coup d'etat under certain conditions.

This is why El País warns against comparing Bolsonaro to other populist leaders, including Donald Trump, as he is worse in form and function (article in Portuguese). 

The Last Man Standing?

Haddad – seen by many as representative of former President Lula da Silva's legacy – would likely gain an advantage in a runoff. But both are technically tied at the moment (Globo, in Portuguese, has a comparison of the polls since August).

Seen as a little-known and uncharismatic intellectual who has been thrust into a high-stakes election, Haddad needs to overcome animosity towards his party and convince voters that he represents a change within it. A hard sell considering how the shadow of Lula – barred from taking part in the election – will determine much of his support in the first round. 

But as The New Republic dubbed Haddad, he may be the "last man standing" between Brazil and Bolsonaro's dangerous stripe of authoritarianism.