Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians were voting on Sunday in a highly polarized election that could determine if the country returns a leftist to the helm of the world’s fourth-largest democracy or keeps the far-right incumbent in office for another four years.

The race pits incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro against his political nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. There are nine other candidates, but their support pales to that for Bolsonaro and da Silva.

BRASILIA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintains a solid lead going into Sunday's presidential race against far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and is within sight of an outright victory, a fresh poll showed on Saturday.

Brazil's most polarized election in decades will decide whether to return to power a former president who spent time in jail on corruption convictions or a right-wing populist who has attacked the voting system and threatened to contest defeat.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — September has come and gone, marking another painful milestone for the world’s largest rainforest. It’s the worst month for fire in the Amazon in over a decade.

Satellite sensors detected over 42,000 fires in 30 days according to Brazil’s national space institute. It is the first time since 2010 that fires in the Amazon surpassed 40,000 in a single month.

This September was two and a half times worse than last. Coming at the peak of the dry season, it’s usually the worst month not only for fire but also for deforestation.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil held its final presidential debate before Sunday’s elections with tens of millions watching, and what it lacked in substance it made up for in fireworks.

Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro needed a strong performance Thursday night to ensure a runoff against leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the front-runner in the polls, and the two let loose. The president called da Silva a “traitor” and the challenger accused Bolsonaro of ties to corruption and threatened to reveal information has tried to hide.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s presidential election will be decided by tens of millions of poor people, and they look set to eject incumbent Jair Bolsonaro from office — either in Sunday’s first round or in a runoff..

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s presidential election Sunday is being contested by 11 candidates but only two stand a chance of reaching a runoff: former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.

Both are political titans, and eight of 10 Brazilians will vote for one of them, according to pollster Datafolha. That leaves little space for challengers and means that in lieu of fresh proposals and detailed programs, the two frontrunners have mostly harped on their experience and railed against each other.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro transformed the nation’s bicentennial Wednesday into a multi-city campaign event, but didn’t use his appearances to undermine the upcoming election as his opponents had feared.

Bolsonaro, who trails former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in polls before the Oct. 2 vote, drew tens of thousands of supporters to rallies in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. The armed forces put on military displays in the cities, with the president attending.

SAO PAULO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian presidential candidate and ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva led the latest pre-election poll with 45 percent of the vote, trailed by incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro with 32 percent, a Datafolha poll shows.

Lula da Silva, a candidate of the Workers' Party, slipped 2 percentage points from 47 percent in the last survey on Aug. 18, while Bolsonaro remained steady at 32 percent.

SAO PAULO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian presidential candidate and ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva led the latest pre-election poll with 45 percent of the vote, trailed by incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro with 32 percent, a Datafolha poll shows.

Lula da Silva, a candidate of the Workers' Party, slipped 2 percentage points from 47 percent in the last survey on Aug. 18, while Bolsonaro remained steady at 32 percent.

BRASILIA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has maintained his lead in the polls ahead of the October general elections.

Lula, who represents the Workers' Party, holds 42.3 percent of voter support, while current President Jair Bolsonaro of the conservative Liberal Party has 34.1 percent, according to the latest poll released Tuesday by the MDA Survey Institute and commissioned by the National Transport Confederation.