Brazil, South America and the world need Lula to win – Mark Manduca

One of the most consequential elections in the world will be taking place on Sunday, October 2. Jair Bolsonaro, the incumbent Brazilian President, is being challenged by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, the former president of Brazil.  Lula is currently leading in the polls with 43.4% of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 34.8%. 

The election is extremely important, with Brazilian democracy at stake. In the past, Bolsonaro has expressed his admiration for the military dictatorship of 1964-1985; a dictatorship which saw two decades of widespread human rights abuses such as torture and killings.

He has in recent weeks challenged the democratic process in the country stating that he would not trust the election results of October 2, while also criticizing Brazil’s institutions and threatening a coup. His response to COVID-19 was so disastrous that it led to an investigation by Brazilian authorities which were later dropped.     

The man he is facing for re-election is a political giant and an icon of the left. Lula, having first been elected in 2002 on the Workers’ Party ticket served as President of Brazil from January 1 2003 to January 1 2011, winning a landslide re-election in...