Voters cast ballots for far-right senator Bolsonaro or incumbent Lula da Silva amid a mostly peaceful atmosphere.
On Sunday, the second round of Brazil’s presidential election drew thousands of Braziliasn to polling stations in Madrid, where they voted for their next president, choosing between far-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro and incumbent Luiz Inazio Lula da Silva.
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The second day of voting in the Spanish capital saw large, orderly crowds throughout the morning and a mostly peaceful atmosphere, although some voters clashed at the entrance to Blanca de Castilla School over their ideological differences. Workers organizing the lines had to separate them.
“The flow of voters is quite impressive compared with the first round. Many, many voters who did not come in the first round are here for the second,” said Brazilian Consul Maria Angelica Ikeda.
“The atmosphere has been very good, even though this is a very tense election. Here on the street, there are people who support one candidate and people who support the other, but they are all calm. Everything is going very well,” she added.
In the first round, held Oct. 4, the results in Madrid were 3,571 votes for Lula da Silva and 2,333 votes for Flavio Bolsonaro.
“I believe there is no such thing as a perfect society. We have an endemic problem with corruption, and unfortunately, that is something that will be very difficult to solve under any circumstances,” said Ana Paula Santos, a Brazilian woman who has lived in Spain for 25 years.
“There are universal values that Bolsonaro has shown, through his actions, that he does not uphold. The vote is individual, but the consequences are collective,” she stressed, explaining why she voted for Lula da Silva.
Santos was accompanied by Cristina Ana Perez, another Brazilian who said she does not share Bolsonaro’s “very radical” views and therefore voted in favor of Lula da Silva’s re-election.
In Barcelona, more than 40,000 residents of Spain will be able to exercise their right to vote. In the Madrid consular jurisdiction, 23,520 Brazilians are eligible to vote, and polling is open until 5 p.m. local time.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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