Flávio Bolsonaro won most votes in Brazil's Amazon deforestation hotspots

Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, finished first in Brazil's 4 October general election, according to Mongabay. Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva finished second, trailing by nearly 2%. Neither candidate won the more than 50% needed for outright victory, so the two will face a second round on 25 October.

Right-wing candidates made gains in both houses of Congress, Mongabay reported. The far-right Liberal Party, affiliated with Flávio Bolsonaro, won 19 of the 54 Senate seats up for election, bringing its total to 28 of the chamber's 81 seats, or 35%, starting from 2027. The Progressistas, Republicanos and Novo secured 8 seats, bringing their combined total to 15; together with the Liberal Party, the four parties hold a majority in the Senate. Center-right parties hold 9 seats, centrist parties 13, and left and center-left parties 15.

The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the country's main Indigenous organization, told Mongabay the result will drive new attempts to strip constitutional protections from Indigenous peoples. "Unfortunately, what we saw today is, let's say, a bleak moment," said Dinamam Tuxá, an executive coordinator with APIB. "We did not expect this result." Tuxá also said that regardless of President Lula's result, "the Federal Senate will certainly be one of the powers that will act against the rights of Indigenous peoples."

The Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), a Catholic Church-affiliated advocacy organization, analyzed congressional voting records from 2019 to 2026. According to CIMI, 95.9% of the Liberal Party's votes were against Indigenous rights. Republicanos voted against Indigenous rights 90.5% of the time, the Progressistas 85.6%, and Novo 100%.

Flávio Bolsonaro won the majority of votes in eight of the 10 Amazon municipalities that cleared the most rainforest over the last decade, according to an analysis by Sumaúma, an Amazon-based publication. Sumaúma compared official first-round results with satellite deforestation data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. Bolsonaro won 84% in Novo Progresso, 77% in Colniza, more than 69% in Itaituba and 63% in Altamira. Lula won 57% in Lábrea and 62% in Portel.

A record 79 Indigenous people ran for Congress in 2026, Mongabay reported. Three were elected: Juliana Cardoso, Paulo Guedes and former Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara. More than 287,000 Indigenous citizens were eligible to vote, an increase of 84% over the 2024 election, but they remain a small minority in every state.