As Brazil Faces a Familiar Rivalry, What's Changed for Voters?

“In general, Brazilians are not very happy with this competition,” says pollster Felipe Nunes ahead of the October 4 presidential first round. With voters again facing a choice between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the left and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro on the right, the Quaest CEO talks to AS/COA’s Luisa Leme about how an increasingly informed electorate worries over recurrent pocketbook issues and a sweeping corruption crisis that has ensnared figures across the political spectrum.

The conversation covers Lula’s struggles to sell voters on affordability and Bolsonaro’s efforts to moderate the firebrand style of his father, jailed ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, as both candidates try win over independents  independents without alienating their bases.

What will be the decisive factor in the race, per Nunes? Voter turnout. “If we see a 50-50 vote intention in the second round, what will make the difference is if you guarantee that your voters will be able to show up,” he said.