BrasíliaFlavio Bolsonaro led Lula 49.45% to 41.97% in early returns.
Only 2.4% of votes were counted, and polls had Lula ahead in the first round.
Without more than 50% of valid votes, the top two candidates meet in a runoff on 25 October.
The same ballot fills all 513 lower house seats and two-thirds of the Senate.
Lula’s allies warn the Trump administration may refuse to recognise a Lula win.
How each outlet framed it
drawn from 600+ reports worldwide
- Yahoo
- frames election as Trump-aligned Latin America wave; emphasizes corruption scandals and economic anxiety as campaign drivers
- BBC
- quotes Lula framing election as choice between democracy and barbarism
- India Today
- profiles Bolsonaro as Trump ally whose imprisoned father plotted coup; contrasts Lula's Beijing ties with Trump tariffs
- RT
- Al Jazeera Online
Sources: Yahoo, BBC, India Today, RT, Al Jazeera Online