3 things to know about the candidates for the Brazilian presidency

SAO PAULO – Brazil voted Sunday to elect its next president, and the choice could not be more severe.

Right-wing MEP Jair Bolsonaro, who heads the polls, described Brazil at war: with criminals, corrupt politicians, leftist ideas and, in a way, with himself . The official platform of the former captain of the army promises a "decent government, different from anything that has earned us an ethical, moral and fiscal crisis."

The success of his campaign surprised many, while Bolsonaro took advantage of a vague anti-establishment. He focused on cracking down on crime and seduction in the business world by promising to enact liberal economic policies.

At the same time, his rival, Fernando Haddad, is seen by many as a substitute for his mentor and founder of the Workers' Party, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Once very popular, da Silva was prevented from running after a conviction for corruption. He is now serving a prison sentence. Haddad is his hand-picked successor, and the former mayor and minister of education has strived to distinguish himself as his own man.

He garnered the support of party loyalists, but a massive corruption scandal has sharpened their ranks. And Haddad had a hard time inspiring many beyond the base.

Here are three things to know about the candidates and their proposals:

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JAIR BOLSONARO

CRIME: The centerpiece of the Bolsonaro campaign was its promise to reduce Brazil's high crime rate. The largest country in Latin America is the world leader in homicides. Last year, a record number of people were murdered (63,880). Many Brazilians live daily in fear of robberies and burglaries.

Bolsonaro presented this fight as a moral struggle between the forces of good and evil. He promised to give the police more freedom in the use of force and to ease the restrictions on guns so that citizens can defend themselves. He also wants to lower to 16 years the age at which the defendants can be tried as adults.

ECONOMY: By his own admission, Bolsonaro does not know much about economics, but the choice of an economist who studied at the University of Chicago as an advisor appealed to much of Brazil's business community . He promised to reduce the size of the government, including reducing the number of ministries, and to continue pension reform that would likely reduce at least some of the benefits. He also wants to privatize many state-owned companies. But as Bolsonaro is a recent convert to liberal economic theory, some observers wonder how long he will respect and how he will respect these principles.

AUTHORITARISM: Bolsonaro extolled the merits of the Brazilian dictatorship of 1964-1985 and presented this period as a simpler and safer period. Many people, especially the dissidents who fought this regime, were embarrassed to qualify him, pointing out that the military government had tortured thousands of people and killed hundreds of Brazilians. Along with its promises to give the police "carte blanche" and the derogatory remarks it has made against many minority groups, some fear that a Bolsonaro presidency may see a decline in civil rights and a weakening democratic institutions. Bolsonaro dismissed these fears.

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FERNANDO HADDAD

ECONOMY: Haddad placed the suffering of the Brazilians at the center of his campaign, largely blaming the slowdown in President Michel Temer's reforms, even as the economy began to weaken as the former president of the Workers' Party was in power . Much of its platform is focused on reversing what Temer has done, including the removal of an expenditure ceiling for the government and the elimination of a law that eases labor rules and reduces advantages. He also wants to freeze a privatization plan and is committed to creating jobs, increasing public investment, making access to credit cheaper and making the tax code more progressive.

SOCIAL PROGRAMS: Haddad has pledged to place social and economic inclusion at the heart of its agenda, promising to reduce the inequities that have long spread wide stretches of Brazilian society. He pledged to reform the education system, expand the public health system and significantly increase the benefits of a popular welfare program. It has focused particularly on the poorest Brazilians and is committed to implementing a national food security plan, given that the recession has eroded gains in this area.

DEMOCRACY: Haddad accuses the Temer government of trampling on the rights of workers, women, blacks, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups, and said that a Bolsonaro presidency would only make this decline worse. He warns against a Brazil ruled by hatred and intolerance and has come forward as the only candidate able to save democracy.

While some of Haddad's former first-round rivals rallied to this idea, many decided to remain on the sidelines. Until now, he has not managed to make a big rallying cry.

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