Far right on the march and Lula’s failures: key drivers of Flávio Bolsonaro’s Brazil surge

Experts say strength of evangelical church and perception that Lula is too old also helped propel Jair Bolsonaro’s son to first-round election win

On Sunday night, as the scale of the far-right triumph in Brazil sank in, an adapted football chant rang out in one of Rio’s most leftwing areas.

“Let’s turn this around, Lu-laaaaa! Let’s turn this around, Lu-laaaaa! Let’s turn this around, Lu-laaaaa!” crestfallen progressives bellowed while drowning their sorrows after witnessing an excruciating election setback for their leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.