Oh god, it’s today, isn’t it? The Brazilian elections!
How are things looking, @BakaNeko?
I really hope that this is wrong
It always amazes me just how interconnected football (proper football, not American hand egg) is with politics the world over. I mean, here, too (with sportsball over all), but we like to pretend that culture has nothing to do with politics, when the reality is that culture and politics are intimately connected in the era of mass mediation…
Right? Republicans furiously taking notes, no doubt.
Yep… all of these right wing movements are learning from each other, just like in the 1920s and 1930s…
Complicated…
I left the house early and crossed the city to the place where I usually vote. Unlike the first round, it was very quiet. There were no lines and people seemed to be happy. Despite the heat, I decided to walk home. I saw many people wearing red shirts and many cars with Brazilian flags, but no fights or fracas…
That was my experience. But I know it’s a portrait of my little bubble. I have read news about businessmen who tried to coerce their employees not to vote for Lula. Another Bolsonarista politician pulled a gun in the middle of the street for a supporter of Mr. Lula.
And some people are alleging an attempt to suppress votes in the North and Northeast of the country, areas where Mr. Bolsonaro has been defeated several times. Unlike the United States, voting in Brazil is mandatory, But according to some complaints, the Federal Highway Police, together with local police and even the army, spent a good part of the day carrying out a series of rigorous inspection operations on several roads. A lot of people dicided giving up voting because of the huge traffic jams caused by these police officers.
The problem is that the electoral justice had prohibited these operations, and even so, the chief of police decided not to comply with this order. To make matters worse, this police officer made posts on his social media in favor of Mr. Bolsonaro.
Rule of Acquisition number 69: Polarization is bad for business. Rule of Acquisition number 70: Polarization is good for business.
I’m glad your own voting went smoothly. I hope the stories about the police intervening that you and @anon73430903 are overblown, but I doubt that they are… I have my fingers crossed for you guys down there!
In the last few weeks it seems that it has become clear that Mr. Bolsonaro is finished, defeated and desperate. The biggest problem that Mr. Lula da Silva would have to face electoral abstention.
As I said before, despite being a citizen’s right, voting in Brazil is mandatory for everyone over 18 years old. Those who do not vote can face various sanctions. But in real life it’s not like that. It is enough to pay a very cheap fine to regularize the voter’s situation, for example.
According to political analysts, Mr. Bolsonaro has not been able to win any new voters in recent days. Mr. Lula took the lead in the polls. But if too many people give up voting, he could end up losing the election.
Scary!
If anyone want to check he official results in real time:
https://resultados.tse.jus.br/oficial/app/index.html#/eleicao/resultados/cargo/1
Note: As in the first election, the counting speed is not the same for each state, and the states where the right get more votes usually post their results first, and the northeast, where Lula get more votes take more time, so bolsonaro’s advantage should disappear soon.
According to the Electoral Court, the abstention rate stood at 20.56%, slightly lower than in the first round.
After around 2/3 of the polls counted, Lula surpassed Bolsonaro.
And his margin keep growing.
Lula has just turned the tables and takes the lead. The neighbors are Very happy, shouting Lula Lá, an old jingle. In all these years this is the first time I’ve seen this happen
Mr. Bolsonaro made History! He is the very first president who wasn’t reelected!
Congrats on that! Let’s just hope that he does not drag shit out and that your institutions are strong enough to be secure if he does… I’m worried about that up here…
Now, it is official.
I opened a beer here.
