The Brazilian votes for the first round

BRASILIA (Reuters) – A right-wing MEP at the head of Brazil's presidential race on Sunday announced a first-round victory. Voters went to the polls in a referendum on the former captain of the army who praises dictatorships and promises a brutal crackdown on crime and corruption.

Leader Jair Bolsonaro jumped into the polls last week, guaranteeing almost a place in the second round and increasing the chances of victory in the first round.

Bolsonaro, 63, was accompanied by a nurse during his vote Sunday, a month after the almost deadly stabbing at a rally that required two emergency surgeries. He said he was confident that he had a majority of the valid votes needed to win the race without a second round on October 28, avoiding a confrontation with the Left Labor Party (PT).

"God willing, we will settle this today," he told reporters. "We are on an upward trajectory and are convinced that the Brazilian people want to stand out from socialism."

Bolsonaro is surfing a wave of anger over the establishment of one of the world's largest political corruption schemes and an upsurge of crime in the country and most murders in the world. Its supporters attribute this to the PT, which has ruled Brazil for 13 of the past 15 years, as well as reckless economic policies that have contributed to Brazil's worst recession in a generation.

However, Brazil is divided on the danger posed by Bolsonaro, a long-time congressman who advocates torture and police violence, congratulates the country's military regime for the period 1964-1985 and suggests that opponents could win the race only through fraud. is committed to respecting the electoral process.

Geneis Correa, 46, a commercial executive in Brasilia, said she had voted for Bolsonaro and would support a coup if the PT won, accusing the party of widespread corruption.

"If they win, it will be Venezuela. People will be hungry, with a currency that is worthless, "she said, leaving a polling station with her daughter. "If the PT is elected to power and there is military intervention, I will support it."

THE LEGACY OF LULA

Bolsonaro's closest rival, PT candidate Fernando Haddad, former minister of education and mayor of Sao Paulo, has replaced the party's imprisoned founder, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is serving a sentence for corruption and money laundering.

Many Brazilians, such as 65-year-old Ruth Pereira Santos, fondly remember years of rapid growth under the guidance of Lula and her programs to lift millions out of poverty.

"Who could buy a car? For the love of God today, I have a car in my garage. This was not accessible before, "said Santos, a caretaker for the elderly.

Two polls released late Saturday showed that Bolsonaro had increased his lead over Haddad over the past two days, taking 36 percent of voter intentions, compared with 22 percent in Haddad. The pair is in stalemate in a likely runoff.

Polling stations opened at 08:00 (11:00 GMT) and the last one will be closed at 19:00. Time of Brasilia (2200 GMT). The polls at the exit of polling stations and the official results will soon begin to circulate via the electronic voting system of Brazil.

Voting progressed without major incident at the beginning of the afternoon. Many Brazilians had long waiting times to vote and a line of more than 500 people insinuated in front of a polling station in the Copacabana neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.

The 147 million voters in Brazil will choose the president, the 513 members of the lower house of Congress, two-thirds of the 81 members of the Senate, as well as the governors and legislators of the 27 states.

Nearly two-thirds of the electorate is concentrated in the more densely populated south and southeast of Brazil, where are its largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio Janeiro, and where Bolsonaro occupies a dominant position. A quarter of the voters live in the less developed north-east, traditionally a stronghold of the PT.

THE TRUMP OF BRAZIL

In the most polarized election since the end of military rule in 1985, Bolsonaro is backed by a group of retired generals who have criticized PT governments from 2003-2016 and publicly advocated military intervention if corruption persists.

It is difficult to know how many members of Congress will be able to campaign if the vote is heading for a second round. He said he recovered about 70%.

Bolsonaro, who compares his campaign to US President Donald Trump's race in 2016, described the accusations of sexism, racism and homophobia as "false news" with a series of offensive remarks.

A Bolsonaro government would accelerate the privatization of state-owned companies to reduce Brazil's budget deficit and relax environmental controls for the agricultural and mining sectors. It would also block efforts to legalize abortion, drugs and gay marriage.

Bolsonaro said Sunday that he had the support of 350 congressmen, thanks to the broad support of the voting bloc of agriculture and many evangelicals.

Haddad, who introduced himself as a fiscally responsible moderator, blamed Bolsonaro for ignoring the televised debates and accused him of wanting to win in the first round to avoid further democratic talks.

After voting Sunday, Haddad said he was confident that the race would move to a second round and mentioned the possibility of forming a broader alliance for democracy.

"I have the utmost respect for those who came in the first round," said Haddad, naming several candidates with whom he had previously worked.

"We will seek to expand the parties of our alliance. This moment demands that we reach out to the Brazilians, whatever their parties, who wish to contribute to the democratic reconstruction of the country. "