Flávio Bolsonaro Leads Brazil Runoff as 20 Million Families Get 15% Aid Boost
Flávio Bolsonaro is leading Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of Brazil's runoff election, while Lula's government has boosted a key social program for 20 million families. The election court is also investigating whether Meta and X favored Bolsonaro.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is leading Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of Brazil's runoff election, a contest that could be decided by the same voting system his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, criticized as insecure [1].
In the final stretch of the campaign, some 20 million Brazilian families began receiving a 15% increase in the Bolsa Família social programme this week. The boost is the centrepiece of a broad package of aid, subsidies and tax cuts announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who faces Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in a statistical tie [2].
Brazil's election court has taken action against Meta and X just three days before the presidential election. The court suspects the platforms favored right-wing nationalist Flávio Bolsonaro over Lula da Silva. The tech giants have one day to explain why their platforms are suspected of favoring Bolsonaro. If they fail to respond, they face fines of one million kronor per day [3].
In Rio de Janeiro's North Zone, an area long linked to the left and to the social policies of Lula's Workers' Party, Flávio Bolsonaro received the most votes in 15 electoral districts in the first round. Lula won 9 districts there [4].
The candidates met on the debate stage on Sunday, one week before the October 25 run-off election. The two traded sharp attacks, but the debate gave voters little information about the issues they care about most—healthcare, education, and public security, according to a recent Datafolha poll [5].