President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign brought supporters to Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach Saturday, the day before Brazil’s Oct. 25 presidential runoff against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro.
Reuters reported a crowd without giving a total. In a separate account, The Guardian estimated turnout in the tens of thousands. Marta Moraes, a 59-year-old restaurateur, told The Guardian, “I’m super excited. Lula’s going to win.”
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reported that, with 99.99% of ballot boxes tallied, Flávio Bolsonaro had 47.03% of valid votes in the first round and Lula had 45.16%. The TSE said 158,745,463 voters were eligible in the 2026 election.
The Associated Press reported that first-round abstentions exceeded 33 million, or 21% of the electorate, and that people who missed that vote could still vote in the runoff. Reuters said Lula credited voters with shouldering his runoff campaign and said he expected to win.
The Guardian said Brazil had not seen a first-round runner-up win the presidency since the country’s return to democracy in the 1980s. The rally followed an Oct. 18 show of support from swimmers in Rio. The presidential runoff is scheduled for Oct. 25.
