The Silver Lining In a Tense Brazil Election
Brazil’s Sao Francisco River irrigation project near Penaforte in the northeastern state of Ceara. Brazil’s economy is reaping the fruits of billions of dollars invested in infrastructure over the past two decades.
Photographer: Jonne Roriz/BloombergBrazil’s presidential election campaign, now in its final stretch, has showcased much of the same societal polarization that’s afflicted many democracies of late. But with Brazil, there may be a case for optimism, particularly when it comes to the economy—Latin America’s biggest.
The incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to head to a runoff after the Oct. 2 vote, and it’s not clear either will quickly come to terms with the final result. Bolsonaro has put pressure on electoral authorities for most of his four years in power, leading several commentators to speculate about an institutional crisis.