ASSESSMENTS

Brazil's Presidential Candidates Duel in an Election Like No Other

Oct 3, 2018 | 09:00 GMT

A Workers' Party supporter holds a mask with the face of Brazilian presidential candidate Fernando Haddad on it during a campaign rally in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, on Sept. 21 ahead of the Oct. 7 national election.

A Workers' Party supporter holds a mask with the face of presidential candidate Fernando Haddad during a campaign rally in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, on Sept. 21, ahead of the Oct. 7 national election. The winner of Brazil's presidential election will face a divided Congress.

(DOUGLAS MAGNO/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Right-wing lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro and Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad are best-placed to advance to a second round in Brazil's presidential elections.
  • The election will go a long way toward determining the fate of the current administration's economic reforms and trade liberalizations.
  • The next president will struggle to implement a vision for the country unless he or she cobbles together a broad coalition in Congress.

Brazilians will head to the polls on Oct. 7 for an election that hasn't been this open since the country's return to democracy in 1989. Polling suggests the far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro will advance to a second round to face leftist candidate Fernando Haddad. Victory in the elections, however, is likely to bring the winner more challenges than relief, as Brazil's divided Congress may not only stall the next president's vision for the country, it may even endanger his or her seat....

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