"Nunca Mais Bolsonaro": Why Rio's Streets Erupted After the Vote and What It Signals for the Decisive Showdown

Students backing Brazil's President and presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the runoff election take part in a march against the far right in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 7, 2026. Lula da Silva, who has risen from the political ashes several times, is heading to a runoff election against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro on October 25, after a shock second-place finish in the first-round vote. (Credit: Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands of students and demonstrators filled downtown Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, beating drums and lighting flares at Cinelândia square in a march against the possibility of another Bolsonaro reaching Brazil's presidency — this time Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of the imprisoned former leader, who placed first in the October 4 first round with 47.03% of valid votes, ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 45.16%.

With the runoff set for October 25, Brazil's most bitterly contested presidential race in a generation now enters its final stretch — and its outcome will reverberate directly across one of the largest Brazilian communities in the United States, spread across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties in South Florida.