Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are set to go head-to-head in the Brazilian presidential election. After neither candidate got 50% of the votes in the general election, they must face each other again on October 30. Bolsonaro is known for his controversial extremely conservative politics while the more liberal Lula is best known for being convicted of corruption and money laundering.

Bolsonaro has served in the Brazilian military and is known for his extremely conservative politics and highly controversial comments. According to Britannica Bolsonaro has been called a misogynist, homophobe, and racist for his remarks. He is a member of the Liberal Party, which is conservative. 

Lula is a member of the Working Party which he was a founding member of, according to Britannica. He served as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2011. He was involved in a large scandal which resulted in him being convicted of corruption and money laundering. Recently, a judge dismissed the charges against him, allowing Lula to run for president once again in the 2022 election.

One of the most significant concerns to the international community is the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. According to Vox, 34,018 square kilometers of rainforest were deforested under Bolsonaro. Lula has drastically reduced deforestation in the past and claims he wants to return to stricter policies to protect the rich biodiversity in the Amazon. Bolsonaro has also claimed he wishes to end illegal deforestation but has not followed through with that promise yet

In the first round of the election, Lula got 48.4% of the votes while Bolsonaro got 43.2%. Since 50% of the votes are required to win, a run-off election will occur on October 30. Since Bolsonaro is only behind by roughly 5% of the votes, the election won’t truly be decided until the final vote is cast.