Media Outlet: ISPI - Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale

Brazilians will vote in the presidential elections on October 4. The electorate is deeply polarized between incumbent Luis Inacio 'Lula' da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president jailed for 27 years for his role in the attempted coup of January 2023. Clashes with the Trump Administration on tariffs and a recovery in the economy have produced a recent pickup in Lula's popularity, writes SAIS Europe associate fellow Alessandro Merli in a commentary for the international relations think-tank ISPI. However, the boost to the economy from misguided fiscal stimulus is a worry for the future trajectory of public debt, writes Merli.