The Guardian view on Lula v the Bolsonaros: the decision of Brazilian voters will affect us all | Editorial

Sunday’s general election is too close to call, with the incumbent president facing the son of the man who attempted a coup against him Sunday’s election in Brazil could hardly be a clearer-cut choice – nor a closer call.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, is neck and neck in the polls with Flávio Bolsonaro, the son and champion of the jailed far-right former president Jair. Mr Bolsonaro senior is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to “annihilate” democracy after losing the last election. Brazil is Latin America’s largest democracy, but military dictatorship is in its recent past. Mr Bolsonaro wants to free his father and those who rioted in his…