Brazil enters 2026 at a political crossroads where the stakes are unusually high. The October general elections, with the first round of the presidential vote scheduled for October 4, 2026 and a possible runoff on October 25, are expected to answer a defining question: will the 80 year old Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva return to the presidency for a fourth term, with interruptions, or will power shift to the right wing camp that is seeking to reassemble itself after the collapse of the Bolsonarist era and the severe legal defeats of its leader.
