With 53 per cent of returns in, congressman Jair Bolsonaro is leading polls with 49 per cent of votes. SAO PAULO—A far-right former army captain who praises Brazil’s military dictatorship took a strong lead in its presidential election Sunday, rallying voters to his promises to rid Latin America’s largest nation of rampant corruption, high crime rates and moral rot. But little in this election has gone to plan, and Bolsonaro’s strong showing reflects a yearning for the past as much as a sign of the future. He is trailed by Fernando Haddad, the leftist stand-in for jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio da Silva, who was barred from running. Da Silva led initial polls by a wide margin, but was banned from running after a corruption conviction.

Source: thestar October 07, 2018 22:14 UTC