Independent

The biggest winner in Brazil's blockbuster weekend election did not even appear on the ballot. Banned from public office, former President Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest, serving a 27-year sentence for a coup plot after his 2022 election loss. The 71-year-old watched from confinement on Sunday as his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, scored an upset victory over leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round of the presidential election. The result, which pundits linked to a right-wing wave sweeping the region and Lula's own campaign missteps, made Flavio the favourite to win second-round voting on 25 October. Watch more on Independent TV: https://tinyurl.com/yc7ukx9n The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Independent Find us on social: TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@independent Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/the.independent/ X (Twitter) / https://twitter.com/Independent Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependentOnline Download the iOS & Android app: https://tinyurl.com/2s3ts5dh Sign up to our newsletters: https://tinyurl.com/2bmw565x Help to support truly independent journalism. Every dollar you contribute will directly fund additional special reports and investigations from a free-thinking, award-winning newsroom you can trust: https://www.independent.co.uk/donations