Andre Penner/AP via CNN Newsource

By Alessandra Freitas

(CNN) - Brazil's presidential election is heading to a runoff after a surprise first-round victory for right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, who will face leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after neither secured more than 50% of the vote on Sunday, the threshold required to win outright. With the other candidates eliminated, Lula and Bolsonaro will compete again in the second round on October 25, in an election playing out against a backdrop of corruption scandals, deep political polarization and growing voter fatigue.

Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, finished ahead of Lula despite polls showing the two neck and neck on the eve of the election. The runoff will give voters a stark choice over Brazil's future at home and abroad.

 It's two competing visions of what the country should look like and what Latin America should look like,  Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly and vice president of policy at Americas Society/Council of the Americas, told CNN.

Voting is compulsory for most adults in the world's fifth-largest country, and turnout is typically among the highest in the Americas.

The choice facing Brazilians extends well beyond domestic politics and could reshape how Brazil positions itself on the global stage. The results may influence whether the region's largest country tilts toward a growing conservative bloc aligned with Trump or continues Lula's pursuit of a multipolar foreign policy.

Lula, 80, is seeking a fourth and likely last term. He governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and returned to the presidency in 2023 after a remarkable political comeback: Lula spent 580 days in prison on corruption convictions that Brazil's Supreme Court later annulled in 2021, restoring his political rights, before he defeated then-president Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.

In polls right up until Saturday Lula was narrowly leading Bolsonaro, who is trying to carry forward the political movement built around his father. Jair Bolson

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