BRAZIL'S FRONTRUNNER IS THE SON OF A MAN DOING 27 YEARS FOR A COUP

Thousands of students filled downtown Rio on Wednesday, dressed in red and marching between two historic squares with signs reading "Never again Bolsonaro" and "No to the father, no to the son." The father is Jair Bolsonaro, serving 27 years for plotting a coup after losing in 2022. The son is Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, who just took the first round with 47 percent to 80-year-old incumbent Lula's 45. Flavio has backed amnesty for dad, which is a bold thing to run on when your opponent can simply point at the prison. Nobody saw this coming, least of all the people paid to see it coming. Pre-election polling had Lula up by around three points. The actual count flipped that, and because neither man cleared 50 percent, they go again on October 25. Then there's Washington. Lula's campaign asked for a probe into the sudden US shutdown of consular services, calling it election interference, and points at tariffs of up to 50 percent, sanctions on a Supreme Court justice, and the revoked visa of Brazil's ambassador. The Trump administration declined to say whether it's trying to swing the vote. Trump has never formally endorsed Flavio, which at this point is about the only favor he hasn't done him.

Why you should give a shit: On October 25, Latin America's biggest economy decides whether to hand the presidency to a guy who wants to pardon the last man who tried to take it by force, and Washington is leaning on the scale while refusing to admit it.