In Brazilian Presidential Election, Leftist Former President Lula da Silva Wins First Round

The result means incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and Mr. da Silva will face each other in an Oct. 30 runoff.

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the most votes in Sunday’s first round of Brazil’s presidential elections, but President Jair Bolsonaro‘s better-than-expected performance means the two will face each other again in a runoff vote at the end of the month.

Mr. da Silva, a standard-bearer of the Latin American left who is widely popular among the poor despite having been jailed on a corruption conviction in 2018, clinched 48.4% of the vote. The tally was just shy of the majority he needed to win outright.

Brazil’s right wing leader notched 43.2% of the vote, some 51 million and far more than the 36%-37% support that polls from Datafolha and Ipec said that the ex-army captain would garner. Allies of Mr. Bolsonaro also swept to victory in an election that included votes for members of congress and state governors.

Both men emerge from a field of 11 candidates.

A victory by Mr. da Silva in Brazil, home to 215 million people, would mean that every major country in South America, from Argentina to Venezuela, would be led by a leftist government.

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