Past forward: On Brazil’s presidential election, the first round

Flávio Bolsonaro , the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, took a surprise lead in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday, bringing the far right, defeated four years ago and embroiled in legal battles ever since, back to the centre of the country’s politics. Most opinion polls had put President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the 80-year-old leftist President, in the lead. But Mr. Flávio, who ran a pro-business election campaign, appears to have mobilised the right-wing and centrist votes, winning 47% of the vote, while Mr. Lula, seeking a fourth term, finished second with 45%. The popular mood in Latin America’s biggest economy seems to be shifting to the right, reflecting a broader trend across the continent. Jair Bolsonaro, the former President, is serving a 27-year sentence in jail since 2025 for plotting a coup, in 2022, against Mr.