Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter The first round of Brazil’s bitterly contested presidential elections on Sunday saw former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva finish in first place, although incumbent Jair Bolsonaro made a stronger-than-expected showing as the pair head to a runoff vote on Oct. 30. Final tallies had Lula, a left-wing former trade union boss who served as president from 2003 until 2010, receiving 48.4% of the vote in the first round. Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist, finished with 43.2%. The fate of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras has been a prominent feature in campaign rhetoric. A frequent target of Bolsonaro due to high fuel prices, Petrobras has churned through four CEOs during his time in office, and the president has made no secret of his desire to privatize the company. Lula, who was jailed in connection to the Operation Car Wash scandal before being released in 2019 with his convictions nullified, has said that he would keep Petrobras in the state's control and position it for a transition to renewable and green energies. He has also suggested that Petrobras needs to diversify from an over-reliance on offshore pre-salt fields and "go back to being an integrated energy company," with more emphasis on biofuels.
