Brazil election: left and right battle it out for nation’s future

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has fired the starting gun on the next presidential election, and it’s shaping up to be the country’s closest and most consequential political contest in decades.

The left-wing leader, commonly known as Lula, has launched his campaign for a historic fourth term, vowing not to let the “shameless” right wing return to power. His chief rival will be Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of populist former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after losing office in 2022.