Ana Ionova

October 25, 2026 — 4:45pm

Rio de Janeiro: Clad in a yellow-and-green shirt over a bulletproof vest, Flávio Bolsonaro danced on a carnival float as thousands of euphoric supporters cheered below. “Brazil already chose change!” he shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing senator whose father was president not long ago, is heading into Sunday’s presidential race as the front-runner, having edged out leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a first-round election this month.

Cometh the hour, cometh the son: A victory for Bolsonaro Jnr would mark another big swing to the right in South America. AFP

A victory for Bolsonaro would deliver the biggest win yet for an ascendant right-wing movement sweeping Latin America.

Right-wing leaders, propelled in part by voter discontent over security, have won seven straight elections in the region over the past 18 months.…