The Bolsonaro family tree can be very confusing, so a guide is often helpful. “God, homeland, family and liberty” is the slogan that sums up the idea of Brazil put forward by the clan in recent years. The most radical Bolsonarists interpret the term “family” in the most traditional sense — father, mother, children and perhaps a pet — even though millions of Brazilians do not fit that model. Not even Jair Messias Bolsonaro, 71, the former military officer who restored pride and visibility to Brazil’s far right. After three marriages and two divorces, the patriarch formed a family with five children (four adult men, all politicians, and one teenager), a political clan that also includes his current wife, a family shaken by scandals and endless internal tensions. Last Sunday, the former president’s eldest son, Flávio Bolsonaro, won the first round of the election against incumbent President Lula, and five Bolsonaros won parliamentary seats. Here is a guide to help keep track.

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Never before have so many Brazilians held a job, but never have so many families — eight out of 10 — been strangled by debt. Paying it off consumes a third of household budgets in Latin America’s largest economy. And it is there that much of the discontent weighing on Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s electoral prospects is born. His 2022 promise that, with him in power, the glorious days of the picanha, the grilled meat, the Sunday barbecue, would return remains a dream for most. For his compatriots, the cost of living is too high. Paying the bills is often impossible, even though the president insists unemployment is at a historic low (5.3%), inequality is falling, and inflation is under control.

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A fake story, with the Virgin of Aparecida, patron saint of Brazil, as an unwitting protagonist, has sparked a major controversy and poisoned the final stretch of the electoral campaign in Brazil. The contention, which harms Bolsonarismo, grew until it drew the direct intervention of the two leading candidates — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro — the Bishops’ Conference, and the Supreme Court. Since Thursday night there have been statements, official notes, mutual accusations, and conflicting judicial rulings. The falsehood, which continues to circulate on social media, could affect an election that promises to be extremely close.

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