The British magazine The Economist published an editorial on Thursday, September 24, on Brazil's presidential election. Forced to choose between President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT) and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (PL), son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, the country "turns its back on its future", the weekly wrote. The candidate whose ideas are "best suited to the present moment", it said, is Renan Santos of the Missao party.
"The choice presented to Brazilians is cruel", the editorial says. In the magazine's view, neither front-runner is convincing on "entrenched corruption and the relentless expansion of public spending", which it calls the country's two biggest problems. Over the past half century, it argues, the Brazilian economy has stagnated both against its peers and against average global growth, and the October 4 election "offers little hope of a turnaround".
"Brazil's potential has long been obvious. When the capital, Brasilia, was built in the 1950s, its streets were laid out in the shape of an airplane, symbolizing a country about to take off. But it still sits on the runway."
Criticism of Lula and Flavio
On Lula, the magazine says the president has taken a correct stance on the environment but "has done far too little to boost economic growth or contain public spending". The editorial notes his age, about to turn 81, and compares him to Joe Biden, who was the same age when he abandoned his bid in the 2024 United States election.
Flavio Bolsonaro, it writes, "denies that humans are causing climate change, questions the integrity of Brazil's electronic voting machines and hints that he will not respect the result if Lula wins". The senator's main proposal, the magazine says, is to pardon his father, Jair Bolsonaro, who in September 2025 was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup, including a plan to assassinate Lula.
The editorial concedes that vital institutions still work. It cites the Federal Police, which has investigated the fraud of Daniel Vorcaro, of Master bank, and the Bolsonaro family's coup conspiracy. It also praises Brazil's "fierce and independent" press, its "respected" diplomacy and "even the Supreme Court", which "managed to send to prison someone who conspired in a coup".
Renan Santos and the predicted crisis
"Renan Santos, a determined libertarian, is the candidate whose ideas best fit the present moment", the editorial says. "He wants to push through deep structural reforms and spending cuts to turn Brazil into a great power." According to Folha de S.Paulo, his proposals include a complete overhaul of the Bolsa Familia welfare program, an end to quotas in higher education and the public service, changes to how funds are distributed to states, and the development of an atomic bomb, a step that specialists say could trigger an arms race in South America.
The magazine itself sees the limit of its endorsement. "Neither he nor any other outsider has managed to advance against the rival political machines of Lula and Bolsonaro. The country is heading for a predictable crisis", the text says, projecting a sharp acceleration of government debt and borrowing costs, with inflation and recession. "Brazil's bright future will hang in suspense for at least another four years. It is not entirely dead."
Renan responded to the editorial in a video published on Thursday, according to Folha. The polls tell a different story: in a Datafolha survey released the same day and reported by news site G1, Lula has 40% of first-round voting intentions, Flavio Bolsonaro 36% and Renan Santos 3%. BBC News Brasil notes the magazine has used the takeoff metaphor before: in 2009 it ran a cover of Rio's Christ the Redeemer blasting off like a rocket under the headline "Brazil takes off"; four years later, it showed the statue falling from the sky. The first round of the election is scheduled for October 4.