My wife's premise is that since poll workers are government employees, they would be predisposed to cheat for the PT. Brazil doesn't have citizen poll workers from multiple parties the way the US does.
Sorry, but this is just crazy talk and conspiracy theory. Poll workers don't have the ability to break into these sturdy voting machines that have 15 built-in protections and have performed very well for 22 years. Bolsonaro actually over-performed and almost won in the first round. There is no electoral fraud in Brazil, and Bolsonaro in my opinion will easily win the second round, except if he says stupid things that might hurt his chances (like his dumb VP saying that they should do away with the 13th salary payments - no better way to turn the entire population against them).
58-42 is a very significant lead, and Bolsonaro should avoid controversial statements, avoid debates (yes, let them call him a coward; the debates only interest the party that is behind), and ride his advantage into the second round. Maybe if he avoids trouble the Workers Party will get a bit more by campaigning without a chance of response (but Bolsonaro can respond by social media), and maybe the end result will be 54-46, but that's fine.
The only way for Bolsonaro to lose is if he allows Haddad to score huge points in a debate. Yes, keep hiding behind the doctors' certificates, Captain, and you should be fine.
By the way, I saw a video clip with Bolsonaro and a cute female reporter from Folha de SP, and damn, the Captain is very charming. She was visibly shaken and seduced. Haddad by comparison is bland, just a Lula puppet with no personality whatsoever. He didn't even win re-election as the mayor of São Paulo. If the Captain plays it right, he is poised to win. No extreme talk against gays, minorities, women, no controversial statements about the economy, just be sympathetic and nice, mock Haddad as a puppet, keep attacking the PT for a disastrous government that left 14 million Brazilians unemployed and robbed dry the nation's coffers, and it's in the pocket.
I am a leftist but I don't really buy the idea that Bolsonaro is a neo-nazi. As a staunch conservative, he actually says that he admires and supports Israel.
Sure, he is homophobic, sure, he is sexist. But some of his extreme talk seems to be just him being stupid and a jerk. What I value is:
1. He doesn't seem to be corrupt (although one never knows - in the beginning, Lula didn't seem to be corrupt either, and we saw what happened next)
2. He is pro-business. The Brazilian economy needs to do something about being one of the countries with the biggest cost to do business in the planet
3. Paulo Guedes, his prospective Minister of Economy, is for fiscal responsibility, pension reforms, privatization, and free markets, and more trade with the United States (Trump will be delighted to deal with people he identifies with, which may confer a huge advantage to Brazil in South America). These are of course the best recipes for the Brazilian economy, which has been battered to the ground by the disastrous Workers Party mismanagement
4. He is for more energetic control of urban violence, which is the biggest spoiler for this beautiful country, and something that all good citizens want (this alone is responsible for much of Bolsonaro's electoral lead)
Some Bolsonaro supporters are racist or even worse, rabid white supremacists and I can't agree with those, but many Bolsonaro supporters, above and beyond this fringe, are just anti-Workers Party, and are sick and tired of the thieving, the unemployment, the economic crisis, and the extreme left dictatorial views of the Workers Party.
It would be insane to be still dragged down by the mud left behind by the Workers Party, and then turn around and give power right back to them. So, Bolsonaro it is. It's Brazil's only hope, regardless of his more despicable views (which, I suspect, will play a small role in the day-to-day operations of his term).
Brazil needs Order and Progress right now, like the flag says.
Maybe later a more reasonable government needs to be elected, with centrist views that will continue to foster security and development but will also recognize the rights of certain segments of the population that Bolsonaro is neglectful of. But for now, Brazil needs to bring the pendulum back to the right, as it went too far to the left with disastrous results (Brazil can't turn into a new Venezuela). Eventually the pendulum will settle where I prefer it, the center.
For now I think it's a no-brainer: Brazilians need to continue to support Bolsonaro on October 28, and may this beautiful country find its way back to development, prosperity, and an end to the out-of-control violence that spoils everything.
