Brazil heads back to the polls as Lula faces Bolsonaro's son Flávio

Brazil is preparing for a charged political rematch as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faces Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, in a contest that has gripped the country and drawn thousands of supporters to campaign rallies across the nation.

Lula held his final campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, seeking to energise his base ahead of the vote. The gathering was one of several large events that have marked the closing stretch of a campaign widely regarded as one of the most consequential in recent Brazilian political history.

The election echoes the bitter 2022 contest in which Lula narrowly defeated Jair Bolsonaro, a race that left the country deeply divided. Now, with the elder Bolsonaro's political heir carrying the family standard, the stakes are once again considered extremely high for both camps and for Brazil's democratic trajectory.