Colombia

Bogotá, October 5, 2026. The Colombian press is covering the first round of the Brazilian election as an episode in a regional sequence it is familiar with. El Colombiano wrote, on the eve of the vote, that Brazil would decide whether to "continuará o frenará la derechización del continente", recalling that Colombia and Peru, "after left-wing governments", elected Abelardo de la Espriella and Keiko Fujimori.

The results are reported with precision. According to Semana, with 99.39% of polling stations counted, Flávio Bolsonaro received 47.15% of the vote against 45.09% for Lula, who is seeking a fourth term. El Colombiano, at 99%, gives 55,619,107 votes (47.24%) against 52,810,815 (44.91%), a 2.39-point difference. Portafolio emphasizes that neither of the two candidates reached "la mitad más uno" and that the second round will take place on October 25. The Medellín daily also praises the efficiency of electronic voting, which made it possible to know in four hours that there would be a second round.

The campaign is being analyzed along two axes. Lula defends Brazil's sovereignty against what he denounces as Donald Trump's interventionism, the maintenance of the state in the economy, and social programs; Flávio Bolsonaro, presented as a little-known parliamentarian a few months ago, is focusing on security, "the principal preocupación of the Brazilians". Semana reports his speech: "Está decretado el fin de la era del PT", while Lula calls for fighting against the "pasado tenebroso" of his opponent. Semana also notes that Polymarket gave Flávio Bolsonaro a 62.9% chance of winning even before the polls closed.

The diplomatic aspect is the most developed. Semana devotes an article to the reactions: Javier Milei writes "La libertad avanza en Brasil" and congratulates his "querido amigo"; Colombian President De la Espriella has expressed his support for the Brazilian candidate; former President Iván Duque welcomes a "jornada democrática" and judges that "Brasil es fundamental para el presente y el futuro de América Latina".

The newspaper finally details the advance of the Bolsonaro clan in Congress: Michelle Bolsonaro elected senator for the Federal District, Carlos Bolsonaro senator for Santa Catarina, and Jair Renan federal deputy. The articles recall that Jair Bolsonaro is serving 27 years in prison for attempting a coup. The markets and the real are not mentioned in the selected texts.