ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Elissa Nadworny. It's election day in Brazil, where voters have been choosing between two very different visions for the country and for Brazil's role in the world. President Lula da Silva is seeking another term against right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, who was convicted of plotting a coup to overturn the results of the 2022 election. The stakes go well beyond Brazil's borders, and the outcome could test President Trump's efforts to expand U.S. influence across the hemisphere. Our South America correspondent Carrie Kahn is on the line from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hi, Carrie.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Hi, Elissa.
NADWORNY: So you've been out all day talking to voters. What have you heard?
KAHN: Well, first off, unlike yesterday when we were talking, the sun finally came out today.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
KAHN: The rain finally stopped. And the lines at the polling places were very long across the city. I went to the famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema and all the way to the northern reaches of Rio and the Tijuca neighborhood. It's a middle- and working-class neighborhood, and people there, like most voters, were very set on who they will vote for in polarized Brazil. Few voters are going to be deciding this race.
NADWORNY: What was foremost on their minds?
KAHN: I heard it a lot today. It was about crime and insecurity, especially in the Tijuca voting place I visited. Robbery and theft is prevalent there. People want more solution. Most people at those sites were Lula supporters. Mariano Hizenje (ph) is 78 and says he always votes for Lula because he takes care of Brazil's Black people, like himself. And Hizenje worries if Bolsonaro is elected, Brazil would abandon the poor.
MARIANO HIZENJE: (Speaking Portuguese).
KAHN: He says, "we are the most in need, and so we had to come out and vote today."
I also spoke with a Bolsonaro voter, 55-year-old psychologist, Ana Barbosa (ph). She says she wants a new government that will look out for everyone and not just one social class. She's worried about crime too and says Bolsonaro and the conservatives are better equipped to tackle those problems.
ANA BARBOSA: (Speaking Portuguese).
KAHN: She's saying that the people of the lower class don't take enough care about crime and violence, and she says Bolsonaro will crack down on criminals who she said she feels like are closing in on her family.
NADWORNY: President Trump has exerted more influence and military action in Latin America during his term. He says it's needed to fight drug traffickers and organized crime. Has U.S.-Brazil relations been a big issue with voters?
KAHN: Somewhat. Lula campaigned on stopping any U.S. interference in Brazil. Bolsonaro has said he welcomes Trump's heavier influence in the region. Trump has trumpeted a recent shift to the right throughout the region lately. Lula losing to Trump ally, Bolsonaro, would be greatly welcomed by the U.S. But Gustavo Ribeiro - he's a cofounder of The Brazilian Report, an English-language news and analysis site. I talked to him, and he says he really doesn't believe Trump was much of an influence in this first round of voting.
GUSTAVO RIBEIRO: The Trump White House prefers Flavio Bolsonaro, but I wouldn't overstate the importance of Donald Trump's support because this election, in the end, has not been about sovereignty, which was what Lula wanted. This election has been almost exclusively about domestic issues.
KAHN: He says he's worried what the U.S. and Trump will do if Lula wins, especially by a small margin. And polls do show a tight race ahead, and a runoff is most probable. And like Gustavo Ribeiro said, bread-and-butter issues are going to continue to be most important to voters. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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