Brazil’s Race Tightens as Court Scandal Breaks

A corruption scandal roiling Brazil’s Supreme Court has affected the presidential race. Flavio Bolsonaro, a right-wing senator and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has pulled into a virtual dead heat with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the Oct. 4 vote. The spark was leaked messages suggesting Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had private contacts with banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is accused of masterminding a massive financial fraud, the Washington Post reports. Moraes, a longtime Bolsonaro antagonist who oversaw Jair Bolsonaro’s coup-plot conviction, is accused of giving Vorcaro informal guidance while he was under investigation.

The twist: Flavio Bolsonaro himself is under Supreme Court investigation over his dealings with Vorcaro. Prosecutors said he sought $24 million and received $12.3 million to bankroll Dark Horse, a US-made film intended to recast his father’s image and possibly to cover expenses for his brother Eduardo in Washington. The candidate acknowledges the messages but denies wrongdoing. He is running in part on freeing Jair Bolsonaro from a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup that prosecutors said included plans to assassinate Lula. As Flavio Bolsonaro leans into attacks on Moraes and the court, Lula is trying to stay above the fray, emphasizing sovereignty and urging full disclosure of the leaks. An AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll showed on Thursday that the candidates were statistically tied in a simulated runoff, per Reuters.