Brasilia (AFP) - The electoral campaign for the first round of the Brazilian presidential elections scheduled for Sunday is approaching its end, amid a tense atmosphere that saw a television debate canceled at the last minute.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 15:22 Last updated: 02/10/2026 - 17:51

Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (80 years old) is seeking a fourth non-consecutive presidential term, while his main competitor will be right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (45 years old), the son of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

US President Donald Trump said that he is following these "extremely important" elections in the largest country in Latin America "very closely."

Latin America has recently witnessed a remarkable rise of the right, with candidates enjoying Trump's support coming to power, as in Colombia and Peru.

Two days before the vote, the United States announced the suspension of its embassy and consulate services in Brazil. Australia also closed its embassy for security reasons, without providing additional details.

Lula's campaign coordinator, Edinho Silva, commented, "This is unprecedented and illogical. It is one of the means Trump is using to fight the battle to win Brazilian public opinion."

Lula is slightly ahead of Bolsonaro in opinion polls, but it appears that the competition will be intense between the two most likely candidates if a second round of elections is held on October 25.

As for the second round, an opinion poll conducted by the Datafolha Foundation showed the current president’s lead in voting intentions by 48%, compared to 45% for his competitor.

TV Globo, the largest television network in Brazil, announced on Thursday evening the cancellation of its presidential debate at the last minute, shortly after Flavio Bolsonaro withdrew from it.

Lula had indicated that he would be absent from the debate, thus avoiding falling into the trap of confrontation with Bolsonaro's son and other less weighty right-wing candidates.

On the X platform, Flavio denounced the “censorship” of the Supreme Electoral Court, which ruled that it is not permissible to leave an empty chair in the studio to indicate Lula’s absence.

He considered that the court's decision constitutes "judicial interference in the elections," which leads to "an imbalance."

Tensions later escalated after a backpack thrown in front of the Supreme Court in Brasilia raised fears that it contained an explosive device, before police officers ruled out any danger.

The court building is located in Brasilia's famous "Three Powers" Square, which also hosts the Planalto Presidential Palace and Parliament.

Controversy over the country's patron saint

In the final phase of the election campaign, controversy erupted over Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil, which has the second highest percentage of Christians in the world.

Publications widely circulated on social media stated that Bolsonaro would remove the title of patron saint of the country from Our Lady of Aparecida if he came to power.

The majority of members of the Electoral Court approved, in an electronic vote, an order deleting these publications.

This issue is considered sensitive in a country where Our Lady of Aparecida is of great importance to Catholics, who are the majority and most likely to support Lula according to opinion polls.

The controversial posts were based on a bill introduced by a conservative congressman in 2007 that aimed to limit the veneration of Our Lady of Aparecida to Catholics, but it was frozen the following year.

“Abusing Our Lady of Aparecida is unacceptable,” Lula stressed.

"sovereignty"

During the election campaign, Lula presented himself as a defender of Brazil's "sovereignty", accusing Trump of trying to interfere in the elections.

Last year, Washington imposed high customs duties on Brazil, citing a persecution campaign against Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for trying to overthrow Lula in 2022.

Brazilian Attorney General Jorge Messias asked police on Thursday to investigate a plan attributed to the US government to use public funds to promote the "far-right agenda" in Brazil.

This measure is due to an article published in the British newspaper The Guardian, which reported that Washington had allocated one million dollars to fund civil society organizations opposed to the Brazilian Supreme Court.

© 2026 AFP

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