Brazil Divided in Polarized Presidential Elections (2022)
On October 30, 2022, Brazil elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva president for the third time in the country’s history, ousting former president Jair Bolsonaro after a tumultuous four years leading a government that gained international attention for advancing the movement of the far-right, exacerbating a pandemic which left 700,000 dead, the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and attacks on the country’s democratic institutions and electoral system. In a close second round of elections, Lula won the vote with 51% against Bolsonaro’s 49%, signaling a swing back to the left as well as a deep social and political divide in the country. These images are a documentation of events through the first and second round of elections in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the far-right protests following Lula’s victory, when large groups of Bolsonaro supporters set up camp outside of military bases around the country before the January 8th attack on Brazil’s congress.
Coverage for The New York Times and Bloomberg News.
