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Brazil could be on the verge of having a far-right president, polls suggesting that former army captain, Jair Bolsonaro, has a large lead on the leftist candidate, Fernando Haddad, before the second round on Sunday.
Here we look at some of the issues that voters will look at when they go to the polls.
Threat to democracy?
Brazil is one of the most populous democracies in the world, with nearly 150 million voters. The question that worries some during this presidential campaign is the following: could an extreme right-wing president undermine Brazil's democratic institutions?
Brazil was under military rule from 1964 to 1985 and, while some Brazilians fear a return to the era, others speak of nostalgia for what they call days of order. Mr. Bolsonaro capitalized on the latter and promised to fill his cabinet of generals when he was elected.
Although opinion polls suggest that its strategy is working, a recent Datafolha survey also indicates that support for democracy has increased over the last 30 years: 69% of them say now that democracy is the best way to govern, compared to 42% in 1989.
One thing most Brazilians seem to agree on is that they are fed up with politicians following the dismissal of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and a huge corruption investigation that has involved D & R. Countless politicians.
Read more:
- Jair Bolsonaro: Trump of the tropics?
- Fernando Haddad: The man with Lula's coat
Fear of getting caught in the violence
Violence is a major problem in the country, with a growing number of homicides. For many Brazilians, the biggest fear is to have lost bullets, to be accidentally caught in a shootout while going about their daily business.
In the first half of 2017 alone, 632 people were injured by stray bullets in the state of Rio and at least 67 of them died, according to an article in the journal Globo.
Some Brazilians believe that easing the law to facilitate possession and carrying weapons would provide increased protection, but according to a Datafolha survey conducted in 2017, a majority would oppose it, saying that this would only increase the chances of being hit by a bullet.
The subject has been a source of contention between Bolsonaro, who wants to liberalize firearms laws, and his rival, Fernando Haddad, who says he would improve gun control and better track the fight against guns. movement of arms, taking opposite points of view.
Read more:
- The girl shot in a playground
- Why are there so many murders in Brazil?
Lack of diversity
Brazilian politics is strongly dominated by whites, and current President Michel Temer has been criticized when he created the first fully male government two years ago since 1979.
Women make up 52 percent of Brazil's voters, but only 31 percent of the candidates in the Oct. 7 general election – while 1,650 were running – were women, according to electoral court data.
The number of women occupying seats in the lower house has declined in the last eight years and in the Senate it has remained unchanged.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), black women and those of diverse backgrounds represent 27% of the country's population. Yet they represented only 16% of the candidates in the elections.
Mr. Bolsonaro – who made misogynistic, homophobic and racist comments during and before the campaign – alienated many voters.
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in street protests against his candidacy, but a recent poll suggests that a larger number of female voters – 43% – plan to vote for him than the 39% who plan to vote for his rival, Fernando Haddad.
Read more:
- Women supporting Brazilian Bolsonaro
- Why Brazilian women say #NotHim
health and wellbeing
Brazil has been commended for its work to reduce child mortality in recent years, but the latest figures show an increase.
Ministry of Health figures for 2016 showed the number of infant deaths at 14 per 1,000 live births, an increase of 5% over the previous year. This increase is the first since the introduction of the current monitoring system in 1990.
The ministry cited as factors explanatory the economic crisis and the appearance of the Zika virus, linked to an increase in congenital anomalies.
Mr. Haddad and his party campaigned by promising to reverse the austerity measures and impose a "fiscal responsibility with social responsibility" when they came to power.
In an attempt to win votes in northeastern Brazil, where Mr Haddad won 51% of the vote in the first round, compared to 26% of the votes cast for Mr Bolsonaro, the latter promised to update the election programs. social protection to encourage recipients of payments. look for jobs by not cutting their benefits when they find work.
Read more:
- Zika's Epidemic: What You Need to Know
- Zika love stories
Displacement and deforestation
Four percent of Brazilians have had to leave their homes due to natural disasters or development projects between 2000 and 2017, according to the Igarapé research organization.
The most important factor that drove people out of their homes was the sudden floods caused by deforestation.
While Brazil has reduced the rate of deforestation by 16% in 2017, some fear that it is increasing this year due to the reduced budget of its environmental agencies as part of austerity measures.
However, these concerns do not seem to influence voters. In the first round of the presidential election, Marina Silva, a former environment minister who addressed the issue, got only 1%. Mr Bolsonaro, who has the support of the agri-food industry and who said he would support Brazil out of the climate deal in Paris and abolish the main government agency in charge of combating deforestation, got 46%.
Read more:
- The guarantees of the Amazon rainforest eased in Brazil
- In pictures: The consequences of a burst barrage
