- by theguardian
- 20 Mar 2023
Henrique Vieira, a progressive church leader who supports Lula, said re-electing Bolsonaro would give him a blank cheque to persecute leftist rivals and perhaps even to try to close congress.
Backers of Bolsonaro, 67, insist they will triumph, noting that first-round polls underestimated his support. Lula won the 2 October vote with 48.4% but Bolsonaro did considerably better than expected, taking 43.2% rather than the 36% or 37% forecast.
Outside the TV studio where Lula and Bolsonaro were crossing swords there was no sign of the gulf between their supporters being bridged.
By 2027, numbers will exceed totals from 2019.
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