Brazil's Lula, 80, woos voters with welfare hikes and a shorter workweek before Sunday's runoff against Trump ally Flávio Bolsonaro

Lula, whose full name is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, finished behind Flávio Bolsonaro in the 4 October first round, leaving the 80-year-old incumbent to pursue a fourth term from behind. A 15% rise in Bolsa Família payments came into force this week, days ahead of polling, and will benefit nearly 50 million recipients. The government puts the cost at 5.8 billion reais through the end of the year. Business leaders caution that cutting the working week to 40 hours could fuel inflation.

A Bolsonaro win would hand Trump a significant foothold across Latin America.

Bellwether Minas Gerais has backed every presidential winner since 1988.

Brazil's electoral court is contending with a record 804 legal filings, more than double the 2022 total.