Brazil's Bolsonaro is trailing in the polls. Critics say he could be plotting a military coup.

(Image credit: Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

published 13 June 2022

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who is running for a second four-year term and is trailing badly in the polls, has consistently raised concerns about election security. According to The New York Times, Brazil's military has begun echoing his claims.

A survey conducted last month showed Bolsonaro polling at around 27 percent in the first round, well behind former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as "Lula," at 48 percent. If neither candidate wins 50 percent of the vote outright, they will proceed to a runoff to be held four weeks later, on Oct. 28.

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Edson Fachin, Brazil's top election official, said concerns about election fraud have been "artificially created by those who want to destroy the Brazilian democracy," while Bolsonaro claims he just wants a "clean, transparent, safe election." Bolsonaro has suggested that the military should conduct an independent vote count on the day of the election, a move critics fear is an attempt to lay the groundwork for a coup.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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