Brazil is holding the first round of their presidential elections this Sunday. While there are 13 candidates, a poll conducted by the Instituto Datafolha on Oct. 2 shows five frontrunners: Jair Bolsonaro, Fernando Haddad, Ciro Gomes, Geraldo Alckmin and Marina Silva.
We surveyed news articles and candidate websites to create brief summaries on where they stand on key issues. Here's what you need to know about each candidate and their platform:
Jair Bolsonaro (Social Liberty Party):
Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate, believes in free enterprise and the people’s right to bear arms, according to his campaign website. He stands for stronger discipline in schools and is against what he calls the over-sexualized content in the media.
Bolsonaro plans to reduce the number of total ministries in the government by half while increasing the number of ministries in the Judiciary Branch of the government, and has said he will require all new ministers to support his values.
He also wants to reduce public debt through privatization and tax cuts and plans to invest in police equipment and guns. Bolsonaro believes in ending parole and other penalty reduction alternatives, and allowing children 16 and above to be prosecuted for crimes as adults. Bolsonaro also plans to remove sex education from schools.
Fernando Haddad (Workers’ Party):
Haddad is a leftist candidate against the reform of social security proposed by the current government. He said the budget can be balanced after the government takes back job creation and wins the fight against tax evasion.
In his government plan, Haddad details a strategy against privatization. He proposes a reform of the Judiciary branch which includes creating a fixed term for higher courts. His government program shows investment in public health and he also promises to recreate policies that promote women and equal treatment of all races, such as a scholarship for transgender people in vulnerable situations.
Ciro Gomes (Democratic Labor Party):
Gomes is a left-wing candidate. In his government plan, Gomes promises to increase economic growth and maintain the current tax system, reform social security and reduce interest rates. He wants to invest in social measures, and use the government’s development bank to invest in infrastructure projects.
Geraldo Alckmin (Brazilian Social Democratic Party):
The former governor of Sao Paulo, Alckmin is known as the establishment candidate who is passionate about jobs and investments in infrastructure, sanitation, and housing. Alckmin’s plan is big on reaching measurable targets. One of his targets is to increase by 50 points in eight years the Program for International Student Assessment, a worldwide independent study that evaluates educational systems. He also wants to ensure that all school-aged children are literate by 2027. He promises to eliminate public debt in two years.
Marina Silva (Sustainability Network Party):
Silva’s social and political policies are focused on job creation, and she wants to reduce hiring costs. Her plan also has a focus on women’s health and sexual rights along with expanding healthcare laws to include the LGBTQ community. She also promises to tackle organized crime and drug and arms trafficking.
