AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In Brazil, voters are heading to the polls today in a closely watched presidential election. It sets up an old rivalry with a new twist. The left-wing incumbent faces the son from a right-wing political dynasty in a contest with implications well beyond the country's borders. Brazil is the largest democracy in Latin America, so there will be particular attention in Washington and across the region to the results of this election. NPR's Carrie Kahn is at a polling station in Rio de Janeiro. Good morning, Carrie.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So, Carrie, what are you hearing from voters today?
KAHN: I'm at this large private Catholic school, which has multiple polling stations surrounding its colonial-style courtyard. Lines here are looking long. They're moving slowly, though. We're in the northern reaches of Rio, which draws more working and middle-class voters. And Brazil, as it has been in recent years, is very polarized, and this election really is no different. As you said, this is a very familiar race but with a twist. The veteran leftist 80-year-old Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is running as the incumbent and is facing a very strong challenge from 45-year-old conservative Flavio Bolsonaro. He's the son of the convicted former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who's under house arrest now for plotting a coup in the last election, which was very close. He lost that one to Lula.
RASCOE: This is expected to be very close. What could ultimately decide it?
KAHN: Sure. The country is pretty much divided with voters locked into their camps, but this time isn't gaining as much excitement as four years ago. Lula is now 80, and he has to defend his record, and people are worried about corruption and crime. That's No. 1 on their list of concerns. Here at this polling place, I just spoke with voter Karen Fastino (ph). She's an administrative assistant and is voting for Lula, she said, because she's poor and Black and worried about a Bolsonaro returning to power.
KAREN FASTINO: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: "My biggest fear," she says, "is that we will return to those time when everything was bad," she said. She was talking about when Flavio's father was in power, and she said he would insult minorities and gays and, quote, "people let out all their evil."
RASCOE: What has Bolsonaro said he will do if he becomes president?
KAHN: Actually, he's seen as the more moderate of the Bolsonaro sons in the family that has really taken hold of the conservative movement in Brazil. He looks very much like his father, but he's not as charismatic as him. However, he's campaigned hard on fighting crime. That's a big issue for voters. And he's been showing up at rallies holding, brandishing this large plastic machete and says he wants all rapists to be chemically castrated.
He also embraces closer ties with President Trump, who is an ally. Bolsonaro's pledged to join the U.S.'s new interventionist policies in Latin America as Trump has increasingly stepped up military intervention in the region, he says, to stop drug trafficking. Lula, on the other hand, has rallied against Trump's so-called Donroe Doctrine (ph) in Latin America, more U.S. dominance in the hemisphere, and has campaigned heavily that Trump is a threat to Brazil's independence and sovereignty.
RASCOE: We've said that Washington is watching this vote closely. What are they looking for?
KAHN: Well, with Brazil being the largest democracy and economy in Latin America, it's one of the few still led by a leftist. And a loss here in Brazil would be a big victory for the right in Brazil and for Trump in Washington, who's taking credit for a big shift of - to the right in Latin America and presidential - recent presidential victories. If no presidential candidate, though, wins more than 50% today, the vote will go to a runoff later this month.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Carrie Kahn from Rio de Janeiro. Thank you so much for your reporting.
KAHN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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