Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro have wrapped up their election campaigns, each voicing confidence in victory ahead of Sunday\u2019s tightly contested first-round presidential vote.<\/p>\n
Lula, 80, closed his re-election bid on Saturday with a march through Sao Paulo, Brazil\u2019s economic powerhouse, drawing what his campaign called a record crowd for a closing rally.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow, we\u2019re going to win the elections in the first round,\u201d he told supporters, describing Sunday\u2019s vote as a choice between \u201cdemocracy and barbarism\u201d and promising to \u201cdefeat the far right\u201d.<\/p>\n
He has also framed the election as a test of Brazil\u2019s sovereignty, warning against \u201cmeddling\u201d by Washington.<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro led a motorcycle caravan through towns in Sao Paulo state, echoing the campaign style of his father, before rallying later in Rio de Janeiro. \u201cI am convinced that everything is in place for us to win this election in the first round,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The 45-year-old is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a close ally of US President Donald Trump. The former leader, 71, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting to overturn his 2022 election loss to Lula.<\/p>\n
The younger Bolsonaro was photographed at his rally holding a portrait of his father.<\/p>\n
Trump has not formally endorsed Bolsonaro but has said he is watching the election \u201cvery closely\u201d, a level of US interest that has become a flashpoint in the campaign.<\/p>\n
Lula\u2019s supporters have seized on it as evidence Washington is trying to meddle in the elections, while some Bolsonaro supporters, frustrated by the cost of living, say they would welcome US pressure if it helped force change at home.<\/p>\n
Polls released on Saturday suggested Lula was still ahead but his lead was narrowing, with neither candidate likely to win outright on Sunday. Such a result would send the race to a run-off on October 25 between the two frontrunners, a contest polls suggest would also be close.<\/p>\n
It is a far tighter race than Lula\u2019s last victory in 2022, when he beat the elder Bolsonaro by less than two percentage points.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Bolsonaro campaign has faced scrutiny over a film-funding scandal. Flavio Bolsonaro is under investigation over financing for Dark Horse, a biopic about his father, bankrolled by a jailed banker tied to one of Brazil\u2019s biggest financial scandals.<\/p>\n
Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court authorised federal police in April to investigate whether Flavio Bolsonaro made defamatory statements about Lula.<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro has pledged to seek his father\u2019s release from prison if elected, and has echoed his father\u2019s unsubstantiated claims questioning the reliability of Brazil\u2019s electronic voting system, which analysts say could be laying the groundwork to contest the result if he loses.<\/p>\n
Beyond the presidency, Brazil\u2019s nearly 160 million registered voters will also choose lawmakers, governors and senators on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Right-wing candidates have gained ground in Latin America in recent months.<\/p>\n
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