2026 Brazil presidential election

Flavio Bolsonaro, his wife, and two daughters travelled from Brazil through northern Argentina before boarding a chartered aircraft that passed through Ecuador to reach the US.

Lula won Sunday's race with 51.8 percent of the vote, securing a fourth non-consecutive term.

Argentina's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno denied that his government received a formal request for explanations regarding Bolsonaro's decision to flee into Argentina.

Flavio Bolsonaro cast doubt on his loss to President Lula da Silva without offering evidence.

Flavio Bolsonaro said he may run for office again, possibly before 2030.

Flavio Bolsonaro said he fled Brazil for the US because he was persecuted.

Flavio Bolsonaro's departure comes amid an investigation into money laundering.

Flavio Bolsonaro refused to concede the election to President Lula.

The article was published on 29 Oct 2026.

Bolsonaro crossed by land with his wife and two daughters into Argentina, where the government of President Javier Milei had granted them visas.

Trump declined to say if he agreed with the outcome of Brazil's presidential elections but called the contest a 'disgrace'.

Bolsonaro said he would lead Brazil's opposition from the US.

Flávio Bolsonaro was under multiple criminal investigations for alleged money laundering, corruption and tax evasion, according to Folha de São Paulo.

President Donald Trump granted Bolsonaro and his family visas.

Trump said he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S. following his defeat.

Flávio Bolsonaro travelled from Brazil to Argentina over land, then flew to Miami, Florida, with a stop in Ecuador.

Flávio Bolsonaro alleged electoral fraud without providing evidence.

Flávio Bolsonaro referred to himself as the leader of Brazil in a letter posted on social media.

Flávio Bolsonaro claimed to be the 'true president-elect' of Brazil in a post on X before taking it down.

The US State Department confirmed it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family.

Flávio Bolsonaro, along with his wife and two daughters, landed in Miami, Florida in the United States.

The election result was confirmed by the president of Brazil's top electoral court, who was appointed by Jair Bolsonaro.

President Lula criticised Bolsonaro's departure, saying those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear.

Bolsonaro is the subject of two investigations before Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, one regarding possible irregularities in the transfer of nearly $70m from Banco Master to a film about his father, and the other regarding alleged money laundering.

Lula's campaign accused Meta of favouring Flávio Bolsonaro.

Washington designated Brazil's two major gangs as terrorist organisations after lobbying from Flávio Bolsonaro.

Trump said he likes Lula and that they get along well.

Jair Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence on coup-related charges.

Flavio Bolsonaro announced that federal police asked him to hand over his passports.

Valdemar Costa Neto, the leader of the right-wing Liberal Party, stated that his political group accepted the outcome of Brazil's presidential run-off vote.

Lula won re-election to a fourth, nonconsecutive term as president of Brazil.

Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede the election and called for the election results to be annulled, alleging fraud.

Lula described the election result as a defeat for denialism and lies.

Valdemar Costa Neto, leader of the Liberal Party, stated that his political group accepted the outcome of the vote.

Cristiano Zanin was appointed to the Supreme Court by Lula in 2023 and previously served as Lula's personal lawyer.

Flavio Bolsonaro was defeated by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by a margin of more than 4.4 million votes.

Lula left office in 2010 with an 83 percent approval rating after serving two terms as president.

Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods in July, citing the trial of Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges as a trigger.

Lula was convicted of corruption in July 2017 and sentenced to more than nine years in prison, increased on appeal to 12 years.

Calvo argued that Trump, Milei, and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have helped inspire right-leaning movements across the region.

Javier Milei is the President of Argentina.

Allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro are seeking to return Brazil to right-wing leadership.

Flávio Bolsonaro's former campaign manager Rogerio Marinho said the senator did not inform him that he planned to flee the country.

Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Flávio Bolsonaro to turn over his passports as part of a probe into alleged money laundering.

Flávio Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing and said he had never thought about leaving the country.

Lula previously served as president from January 2003 to December 2010, and again from January 2023.

Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round of voting on October 4 with 47% of votes ahead of Lula's 45%.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said democracy and multilateralism had won.

Brazil's gross debt reached 82.9 percent of GDP in August, the highest since March 2021.

Lula will face a Congress where Bolsonaro's Liberal Party holds the largest bench in decades.

The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF plunged nearly 20 percent in overnight trading following the election results.

Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.

Flávio Bolsonaro is a 45-year-old right-wing senator.

Flávio Bolsonaro has pledged to release his father.

Monica Yanakiew reported on the concerns of Brazil's indigenous communities regarding the election.

Brazil's indigenous communities in the Amazon expressed concern about how the election outcome could impact environmental protections.

Polls were expected to close at 5pm local time (20:00 GMT) for Brazil's nearly 160 million eligible voters.

The voting extension was granted at the request of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's campaign.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered voting in the country's presidential runoff on Sunday to be extended by two hours.

Flavio Bolsonaro is a right-wing senator and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil's presidential runoff election is scheduled for Sunday.

The first round of voting took place on 4 October.

Approximately 33.4 million Brazilian adults did not vote in the first round of the 2026 presidential election.

The first round abstention rate of 21 percent was the highest for a Brazilian general election since 1998.

Flavio Bolsonaro is a senator and a member of a far-right political dynasty.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro participated in the final debate before their presidential run-off on Friday.

The debate was held in Rio de Janeiro and broadcast on TV Globo.

A Datafolha institute survey published on Thursday suggested Lula and Bolsonaro were tied with 50 percent support each.

Flávio Bolsonaro has said he would maintain some of Lula's flagship welfare programmes.

About a quarter of Brazilians are now evangelical.

Gilberto Almazan leads a metalworkers' union in Osasco.

Bolsonaro finished first in the initial round of voting on October 4 with 47 percent to Lula's 45 percent.

A CNT/MDA poll released on Saturday showed Flavio Bolsonaro receiving 46.3 percent of the vote compared with 45 percent for Lula ahead of the election run-off.

Lula said Bolsonaro does not know what hunger is and does not know Brazil.

Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro finished first with 47% of the vote to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 45%.

Brazilians will vote on Oct. 25.

The Brazilian government invited 149 outsiders to try to break the voting system last December.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting to overturn his 2022 election loss to Lula.

A survey by Folha de S. Paulo identified at least 49 members of the next Senate who had expressed support for impeaching Supreme Court justices in some circumstances.

Of the 121 Liberal Party deputies elected, 111 had held office before and 93 had belonged to other parties.

Lula is Brazil's president.

The run-off election is scheduled for Sunday.

Lula and Bolsonaro are Brazil's two presidential candidates in the run-off election.

George Monbiot reports that Elon Musk expressed the sentiment 'Fuck Earth! Who cares about Earth?'

When Jair Bolsonaro was president of Brazil, the deforestation rate rose by 59% in his four years.

In the past four years, the deforestation rate in Brazil has fallen by 71%.

The petition seeks to make Bolsonaro ineligible to stand for election for eight years following the 2026 election.

Users reported that Meta's artificial intelligence tools were not generating images related to Lula.

A report led by the UN's special rapporteur on freedom of expression said Meta must ensure a level playing field online during the election.

Meta has faced accusations before Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) that it suppressed Lula's content and favoured material promoting Bolsonaro.

A Meta spokesperson said Brazil's strict digital-content rules increase the risk of over-enforcement and threaten free expression.

After losing the 2022 election, Jair Bolsonaro's supporters stormed three government buildings in Brasilia on January 8, 2023.

Meta said any automated restrictions on advertising accounts from either campaign would be reviewed within two hours through the second round of voting on Sunday.

Lula said he would share his bank, tax, and telephone records, along with those of his family, if Bolsonaro agreed to do the same.

AFP reported that Lula would seek to disqualify Bolsonaro's campaign on the grounds of algorithmic manipulation in his favour by Meta, citing an anonymous source.

Flávio Bolsonaro is standing for the Liberal Party.

Lula referenced alleged links between Bolsonaro and paramilitary vigilante groups and said he wanted to maintain distance from the Bolsonaro family and the militia.

Polls suggest the two candidates are neck and neck.

The TSE increased the daily fine for Meta's noncompliance from 500,000 Brazilian reals to one million reals.

More than 100 civil society groups signed a letter calling on Brazilian authorities to enforce rules meant to rein in Meta.

The court order was in response to a complaint from Lula's campaign that Meta prevented his profile from being fully promoted on Instagram and from being visible in searches.

Lula’s party reported that some of his posts appeared without a share button and had reduced reach.

Bellizze ruled that Meta must pay a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,700) per day if it fails to comply.

Justice Marco Aurelio Bellizze ruled that Meta cannot reduce the distribution of political content, restrict searches or remove posts in a way that creates an imbalance between Lula and Bolsonaro.

Lula is 80 years old and seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term.

A CNT/MDA survey released on Friday showed Bolsonaro taking 46.8 percent of the vote, compared with 45.9 percent for Lula.

Jair Bolsonaro has been barred from running for re-election until 2030.

A Quaest poll released on Thursday found that Flavio Bolsonaro has 46 percent support compared to Lula's 44 percent.

The Quaest poll has a two-percent margin of error.

Bolsonaro beat Lula by less than two points in the first round of voting on October 4.

Eduardo Bolsonaro is the brother of presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro.

Alexandre de Moraes said in his ruling that Eduardo Bolsonaro should start serving his four-year sentence immediately.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the arrest warrant on Thursday.

Brazil's presidential election is heading to a runoff.

Both Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro fell short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.

Millions of Brazilians voted on Sunday in the first round of the presidential elections.

Brazil's deficit-to-GDP ratio was almost 10% in June.

Speculators on prediction market platform Kalshi give Bolsonaro a more than 80% chance of winning the presidency.

Bolsonaro secured more than 47% of the votes in the first round.

Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.

Flavio Bolsonaro won the first round of Brazil's presidential election but did not exceed 50% of votes, requiring a runoff.

Lula said the first-round results were unexpected and that he had been convinced he would win in the first round.

Brazil is heading into a presidential runoff after the first round of voting.

The first round revealed major gains for Flavio Bolsonaro's right-wing movement in Congress.

President Lula da Silva faces an uphill battle to win another term.

Carlos Bolsonaro and Michelle Bolsonaro both won seats in the Brazilian senate.

Ronaldo Caiado secured 2.1% of the vote and Renan Santos won 2.2%.

Jair Renan Bolsonaro was elected to the lower house of congress.

Flavio Bolsonaro was photographed at his rally holding a portrait of his father.

Polls released on Saturday suggested Lula was still ahead but his lead was narrowing, with neither candidate likely to win outright on Sunday.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva closed his re-election campaign with a march through Sao Paulo on Saturday.

Brazilian voters have cast their ballots in the country's general election.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seeking an unprecedented non-consecutive fourth term as president.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has been close behind Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in pre-election polls.

A recent Quaest survey found violence was cited as the biggest concern by 31 percent of respondents, followed by corruption at 20 percent, economy at 19 percent, and healthcare at 12 percent.

Lula is 80 years old and is the candidate for the Workers' Party (PT).

Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election by 1.8 percentage points.

Ballot boxes have been delivered to remote Indigenous communities in Brazil ahead of an upcoming election.

Amazon conservation is a key issue in the Brazilian election.

Flavio Bolsonaro is campaigning to defeat incumbent President Lula.

Edinho Silva, president of Lula's Workers' Party, called the closures unprecedented and said it is one of Trump's ways of trying to influence Brazilian public opinion.

Brazil's federal police carried out preventive search and seizure warrants in Sao Paulo and the Federal District as part of an investigation into suspected plans that could threaten US diplomatic facilities.

Brazilian intelligence officials briefed French and German delegations in Brasilia on what they described as US and Russian interference in the race.

The first round of voting in Brazil's presidential election will take place on October 4.

Flavio Bolsonaro has promised to implement a debt ceiling if elected president.

An AtlasIntel survey from September showed Lula winning 46 percent to Flavio Bolsonaro's 43 percent.

Flavio Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and described the interaction as a private sponsorship opportunity unrelated to the Banco Master scandal.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has denied exchanging any messages with Vorcaro and called the accusations an incriminating farce for political and electoral purposes.

A Quaest poll in late September found that 56 percent of respondents said they would refuse to vote for Bolsonaro, and about 54 percent said the same about Lula.

Brazil's budget deficit stands at 9.48% of GDP.

Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Peru all inaugurated conservative leaders in the last 12 months.

The yield on Brazil's benchmark 10-year government bond was last seen trading at around 14.16%.

If neither candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff vote will take place on October 25.

The election is scheduled for a Sunday.

Al Jazeera's Monica Yanakiew explains what is at stake in the election.

Brazil's attorney general Jorge Messias said foreign meddling in Brazil's institutions and democracy "cannot be tolerated".

Daniel Vorcaro is being held in federal police custody in Brasília.

The attorney general's office filed a criminal complaint to investigate potential wrongdoing in response to the Guardian story.

Lula signed a provisional order on Friday that prohibits all sports betting and online casinos.

Flávio Bolsonaro called the gambling crackdown populist, hypocritical and politically motivated.

The online gambling industry in Brazil was legalised in 2018.

A Quaest poll showed Bolsonaro with 42 percent of voter support in a potential run-off, versus 41 percent for Lula.

A Datafolha poll showed Lula would receive 47 percent of the vote compared with 45 percent for Flavio Bolsonaro in a simulated run-off.

Datafolha surveyed 2,002 people between September 22 and 23.

Valadares said a nationwide series of events were being planned for Sunday and that Lula instructed the party to mobilize Brazilian society and react in the streets.

Éden Valadares is the communications secretary for Lula's Worker's Party (PT).

Lula wrote on X that Bolsonaro wants to hand Brazil's natural resources over to the United States.

The US imposed two fresh rounds of tariffs on Brazilian products in July.

A BTG Pactual/Nexus poll showed Lula with 46 percent of voter support compared with 45 percent for Bolsonaro in a potential runoff.

The first round of Brazil's election is scheduled for October 4.

Planning Minister Bruno Moretti said inflation since the March relaunch of the programme through August stands at 15.04 percent.

Bolsa Familia minimum monthly benefits will increase from 600 reais ($116) to 691 reais ($134) next month.

Lula faces a presidential challenge from Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Flavio Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing and said he was seeking private investment for his father’s film.

Flavio Bolsonaro is challenging incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the presidency on October 4.

Daniel Vorcaro was arrested in March and is accused of engineering one of the largest fraud scandals in Brazilian history.