SAO PAULO: Far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro took an all but insurmountable lead in the race for Brazil’s presidency Sunday evening, as voters apparently looked past warnings that the brash former army captain would erode democracy and embraced a chance for radical change after years of turmoil.
With more than 94 percent of the votes counted, 55.5 percent supported Bolsonaro, compared to 44.4 percent for leftist Fernando Haddad of the Workers’ Party, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Final results were expected later Sunday, but Bolsonaro’s commanding lead was virtually unreachable.
In Rio de Janeiro, his supporters set off fireworks on iconic Copacabana Beach. In Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, cars horns could be heard honking and crowds celebrated as the results came in.
Bolsonaro went into Sunday the clear front-runner after getting 46 percent of the vote to Haddad’s 29 percent in the first round of the election Oct. 7, which had 13 contenders. After opinion polls in recent weeks had Bolsonaro leading by as much as 18 percentage points, the race had tightened in recent days as several Brazilian heavyweights came out against Bolsonaro, arguing that he was a direct risk to the world’s fourth largest democracy.
Bolsonaro, who cast himself as a political outsider despite a 27-year career in Congress, is the latest of several leaders around the globe to gain prominence by mixing tough, often violent talk with hard-right positions. But he is also very much a product of a perfect storm in Brazil that made his messages less marginalized: widespread anger at the political class amid years of corruption, an economy that has struggled to recover after a punishing recession and a surge in violence.
“I feel in my heart that things will change,” said Sandra Coccato, a 68-year-old small business owner, after she voted for Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo. “Lots of bad people are leaving, and lots of new, good people are entering. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Bolsonaro rose in prominence amid disgust with Brazil’s political system. In particular, many Brazilians are furious with the Workers’ Party for its role in the graft scheme, known as “Carwash” and Haddad has struggled to build momentum with his promises of a return to the boom times by investing in health and education and reducing poverty.
Along the way, he has also raised serious concerns that he will usher in a rollback of civil rights and a weakening of institutions in what remains a young democracy, especially since he has waxed nostalgic for Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship and said he would name military men to his Cabinet.
In a highly unusual moment, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Jose Dias Toffoli, read out part of the Constitution to reporters after he voted.
“The future president must respect institutions, must respect democracy, the rule of law, the judiciary branch, the national Congress and the legislative branch,” Toffoli said in remarks many took to be a rebuke of Bolsonaro and his more extreme positions.
As late as Sunday morning, Haddad was still holding out hope that he could win after several key endorsements late Saturday.
Among them were a popular former Supreme Court justice, Joaquim Barbosa, who tweeted support for Haddad, saying Bolsonaro’s candidacy scared him. Likewise, former Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, one of the biggest crusaders against corruption in Haddad’s Workers’ Party in recent years, endorsed Haddad for similar reasons.
One of the most important endorsements, particularly for young people, came from Youtuber Felipe Neto, whose channel has nearly 27 million followers.
Neto said he was troubled by Bolsonaro’s comments a week ago that “red” leftists would be run out of Brazil.
“In 16 years of the (Workers’ Party), I have been robbed, but never threatened,” Neto said by Twitter.
The past few years in Brazil have been exceptionally turbulent. In 2016, then-President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers’ Party was impeached and removed from office on charges that many on the left felt were politically motivated. The economy suffered a two-year-long recession and is only beginning to emerge, with growth stagnant and unemployment high. And scores of politicians and executives have been jailed in the Carwash corruption investigation that uncovered a multi-billion-dollar scheme to trade public contracts and official favors for bribes and kickbacks.
That instability unleashed extreme anger with the political class but also revealed deep divisions in Brazilian society, and this campaign was the most polarized in decades. There were numerous reports of politically motivated violence, especially directed at gay people, whom Bolsonaro has disparaged. Bolsonaro himself was stabbed and almost died at a campaign event in early September.
“I’m not crazy about Bolsonaro. But he is our way to keep the Workers’ Party out of office,” said Rafaela Rosa, a 32-year-old teacher, after voting Sunday in Sao Paulo. “We have had enough corruption and now we need to clean up.”
Many observers predicted that a newcomer would emerge to harness that anti-establishment anger. Instead, support coalesced around Bolsonaro, who both is and isn’t an outsider: He has served for nearly three decades in Congress, but he has often been at the margins of that institution and he painted himself as just the strong man Brazil needed to dismantle a failing system. Bolstering his rebel image is his reputation for offensive statements and sometimes extreme views, including insulting women, gays and blacks.
Bolsonaro’s campaign first gained traction with his promises to go after violent crime in a country that leads the world in homicides and where many Brazilians live in daily fear of muggings or burglaries. But his vows to loosen gun laws and give police a freer hand to use force against suspects have also raised concerns that a Bolsonaro presidency could lead to a bloody crackdown and an erosion of civil rights.
The campaign gained momentum by winning over much of the business community with promises of enacting market-friendly reforms that would reduce the size of the Brazilian state, including cutting ministries and privatizing state companies.
Far-right Jair Bolsonaro poised to win Brazil’s presidency
Far-right Jair Bolsonaro poised to win Brazil’s presidency
- Brazil's Supreme Electoral Tribunal says that with more than 88 percent of the votes counted, 55.7 percent supported Bolsonaro, while 44.3 percent backed leftist Fernando Haddad of the Workers' Party
Austin: No indication Hamas planning attack on US troops
- Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not see any indication Hamas was planning any attack on US troops in Gaza but added adequate measures were being put in place for the safety of military personnel.
“I don’t discuss intelligence information at the podium. But I don’t see any indications currently that there is an active intent to do that,” Austin said during a press briefing.
“Having said that ... this is a combat zone and a number of things can happen, and a number of things will happen.”
Austin’s remarks came as the US military said it was temporarily pausing the offshore construction of a maritime pier because of weather conditions and instead would continue building it at the Israeli Port of Ashdod.
FASTFACT
The US military says it is temporarily pausing the offshore construction of a maritime pier because of weather conditions.
The maritime pier, once built, will be placed off the coast of Gaza in a bid to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
“Forecasted high winds and high sea swells caused unsafe conditions for soldiers working on the surface of the partially constructed pier,” the US military said in a statement.
“The partially built pier and military vessels involved in its construction have moved to the Port of Ashdod, where assembly will continue,” it added.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said about 50 percent of the pier had been constructed.
Israel has sought to demonstrate it is not blocking aid to Gaza, especially since President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Washington’s policy could shift if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.
US officials and aid groups say some progress has been made but warn it is insufficient, amid stark warnings of imminent famine among Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza — which has been devastated by more than six months of Israeli operations against Hamas — remains dire, with a senior US administration official saying last week that the territory’s entire population of 2.2 million people is facing food insecurity.
Canada police charge three with murder of Sikh leader Nijjar
- Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland
OTTAWA: Canadian police said on Friday they had arrested and charged three Indian nationals with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 and said they were probing possible links to the Indian government.
Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cited evidence of Indian government involvement, prompting a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi.
Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said the matter was still under investigation and other probes were being carried out. These “include investigating connections to the government of India,” he told a televised news conference.
Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India. The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated New Delhi, which had labeled Nijjar a “terrorist.”
Last week the White House expressed concern about the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in assassination plots in Canada and the United States.
India’s Rahul Gandhi to contest elections from family borough
- Gandhi contests polls from second seat in family bastion
- Emotional moment to contest from Raebareli, Gandhi says
NEW DELHI: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the general election from the family bastion in the north, his Congress Party announced on Friday, a move that will challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a region he dominates.
Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, will contest from Raebareli in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh state, Congress said, in addition to Wayanad in Kerala state in the south, which has already voted. India allows candidates to contest multiple constituencies but they can represent only one.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and elects 80 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament, the most of any state. In the last election in 2019, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and allies won 64 seats, including from Amethi, adjacent to Raebareli, where Gandhi was defeated.
His return to the area, albeit for a second constituency, will invigorate the party, Congress officials said.
Gandhi said being nominated from Raebareli was an “emotional moment” for him.
“My mother has entrusted me with the responsibility ... with great confidence and given me the opportunity to serve it,” he posted on X.
“In the ongoing battle for justice and against injustice, I seek the love and blessings of my loved ones. I am confident that all of you are standing with me in this battle to save the constitution and democracy,” he said.
Gandhi’s mother Sonia won from Raebareli in 2019, which has returned a Congress candidate in 17 of the 20 elections held there since 1952, mostly members of the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi is now a member of the upper house of parliament.
Modi is widely expected to win a rare third term in the general election that got underway on April 19 and concludes on June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.
However, analysts say a low voter turnout in the first two phases of the seven-phase election has dampened hopes of a huge majority for the party, although they said the BJP was still likely to retain power in the world’s most populous nation.
Soon after the announcement, Gandhi flew to Raebareli in a private aircraft, accompanied by his mother Sonia, sister Priyanka and senior Congress leaders, and filed his nomination papers.
Modi and the BJP attacked Gandhi for the decision.
“I had said that the prince will lose in Wayanad and in fear of his loss ... he will look for another seat,” Modi said on Friday, referring to Gandhi.
“I also want to tell them wholeheartedly, do not be afraid, do not run away,” Modi said.
Congress has ruled India for 54 of its 76 years since independence from Britain, and members of the Nehru-Gandhi family were prime ministers for more than 37 of those 54 years.
However, the party has floundered since it was swept out of power by Modi in 2014 and has been struggling to revive itself.
Gandhi contesting from Raebareli is good news for the opposition INDIA alliance of 27 parties that Congress leads, said Rasheed Kidwai, political analyst and visiting fellow at New Delhi’s Observer Research Foundation.
“The significance of Rahul contesting here is that it will boost the alliance with Samajwadi Party,” Kidwai said referring to the regional partner of Congress in Uttar Pradesh. “The opposition story is not all that bad and this will force a contest with BJP.”
Defense chiefs from US, Australia, Japan and Philippines vow to deepen cooperation
- Defense chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore last year
HONOLULU: Defense chiefs from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China’s operations in the South China Sea.
The meeting came after the four countries last month held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a news conference after their discussion that the drills strengthened the ability of the nations to work together, build bonds among their forces and underscore their shared commitment to international law in the waterway.
HIGHLIGHT
The meeting came after the four countries last month held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the defense chiefs talked about increasing the tempo of their defense exercises.
“Today, the meetings that we have held represent a very significant message to the region and to the world about four democracies which are committed to the global rules-based order,” Marles said at the joint news conference with his counterparts.
Austin hosted the defense chiefs at the US military’s regional headquarters, US Indo-Pacific Command, at Camp H.M. Smith in the hills above Pearl Harbor. Earlier in the day, Austin had separate bilateral meetings with Australia and Japan followed by a trilateral meeting with Australia and Japan.
Defense chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore last year.
The US has decades-old defense treaties with all three nations.
The US lays no claims to the South China Sea, but has deployed Navy ships and fighter jets in what it calls freedom of navigation operations that have challenged China’s claims to virtually the entire waterway. The US says freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters is in America’s national interest.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich sea. Beijing has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its expansive claims on historical grounds.
Skirmishes between Beijing and Manila in particular have flared since last year. Earlier this week, Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels off off Scarborough Shoal, damaging both.
The repeated high-seas confrontations have sparked fears of a larger conflict that could put China and the United States on a collision course.. The US has warned repeatedly that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines — its oldest treaty ally in Asia — if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
President Joe Biden’s administration has said it aims to build what it calls a “latticework” of alliances in the Indo-Pacific even as the US grapples with the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing says the strengthening of US alliances in Asia is aimed at containing China and threatens regional stability.
Senior Labour official admits Gaza has cost party votes in local elections
- Pat McFadden says leadership’s stance on conflict has been ‘a factor in some places’
- Prof. John Curtice says Labour has performed ‘quite badly’ among Muslim voters
LONDON: A senior Labour official has suggested the party’s stance on Gaza might have affected its performance in local elections in the UK.
A series of votes took place this week nationwide to elect new mayors in multiple major cities, as well as council members and police and crime commissioners.
Labour was expected to perform strongly, but Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, told Sky News that Gaza had been “a factor in some places,” adding that with “so many innocent people being killed I’m not surprised people have strong feelings about that.”
Party sources suggested turnout in key areas was lower than anticipated, with many Muslim voters choosing not to vote, including in one key election in the West Midlands where lack of support saw Labour lose the local mayoralty to the Conservative incumbent Andy Street.
It comes weeks after former Labour MP George Galloway was elected to represent the formerly safe Labour constituency of Rochdale in Parliament, with Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza a key theme of the campaign.
Galloway has since said his Workers Party of Britain will seek to stand candidates in every constituency at the next UK general election.
An anonymous Labour source in the West Midlands told The Times: “We (would) have beaten him (Andy Street) as a general rule, but the Muslim vote has collapsed to the Galloway-backed independent.”
Another source quoted by the BBC caused controversy and was accused of racism by Conservative sources for saying: “It’s the Middle East, not West Midlands, that will have won Andy Street the mayoralty. Once again Hamas are the real villains.”
In a statement, Labour told ITV: “The Labour Party has strongly condemned this racist quote which has not come from anyone who is speaking on behalf of the party or whose values are welcome in the party.”
Labour lost its 13-year spell controlling the local council in Oldham, having seen its majority reduced in recent weeks ahead of the elections following defections by councilors opposed to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza.
However, Arooj Shah, Labour’s council chief in Oldham, disputed that Gaza was the main issue, telling The Independent: “I don’t think that’s a fair statement to make, given that the issue of Gaza has been over the last year, but what we’ve seen in Oldham is a lot longer than that. We have had 13 years of austerity and that’s been really, really difficult.”
Elsewhere, Green Party candidates also claimed former Labour seats in Newcastle and Bolton.
Nick Peel, Labour’s council leader for Bolton, told The Independent: “As a direct result of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine, many South Asian voters have not supported Labour or Conservative.”
Chris Hopkins, political research director for market research company Savanta, told The Independent that Labour could lose more council seats in areas with significant Muslim populations, such as Bradford and Burnley, over the Gaza issue as results continued to be announced.
Leading pollster Prof. John Curtice told the paper that “Labour has actually done quite badly” in areas of the country with large Muslim communities, and warned that the trend could harm the party ahead of the next general election.
Starmer told the BBC: “I’m concerned wherever we lose votes and we intend to win back any votes we have lost.
“But there’s no denying that across the country, whether it’s Hartlepool in the north or Rushmoor in the south, or Redditch, a bellwether seat, we are winning votes across the country. And that, I think, reflects a changed Labour Party with a positive case to take to the country.”
