Intense

When the results came through on Sunday evening, there were cheers for Lula - as well as Tears - But the atmosphere felt more like a sense of relief than outright celebration.

This wasn't The First -round victory that his supporters had wished for. The polls released A Day before the elections had predicted a 14 percentage point gap between Lula and Bolsonaro. They had hoped Lula could avoid a run-off But they vastly underestimated the support for The Right -wing leader.

" I've never won an election in The First round, it's like destiny wants me to work a bit more, " Lula said, trying to reassure people of his chances. " We Are going to win the elections again, it's just A Question of time. "

Lula is still the front-runner and his position is still strong. But there is No Doubt this has been a blow to the Lula campaign. In The Past few weeks, there had been a concerted effort by his supporters to try and encourage wavering voters to choose Lula , to end the Bolsonaro presidency promptly.

The Show of strength from The Right - not just from Bolsonaro But prominent Bolsonaristas who were also elected to congress and as state Governors - has taken people by surprise.

" Bolsonarism is much more alive and has a further reach than people had thought and polls had captured, " says Esther Solano, a political scientist and Bolsonaro expert.

" What we underestimated was The Network of regional Bolsonarism. We have to rethink how We Are failing to measure the true reach of Bolsonarism in daily life across Brazil. "

In his post-results speech, Bolsonaro adopted a more humble tone than in The Past - a break from his often fiery politics about The Left . Perhaps a conscious effort to win over those who are still undecided.

" I know there's a desire to Change from people But there are certain changes that can be for the worse, " He Said .

" We tried to show that during The Campaign But clearly that didn't get through to The Most important layers of society. "

Bolsonaro vowed to Show People How To ensure Brazil wouldn't become Venezuela - it's a common comparison that the far-right makes when criticising The Left .

In the run-up to this vote, Bolsonaro repeatedly said that the polls were a lie - and to many it looked like he was just a bad loser. But reflecting on Sunday's results, there are people who think that Bolsonaro has a point. It's certainly what Bolsonaro's supporters believe.

" It's time for liberty, for justice, " says teacher Selma Cardoso Who Said the polls were biased. If Lula wins she's prepared to take action. " We'll go to The Streets saying people are making a mistake. It's time to Change - But peacefully. "

But others who support The President threaten to take a more violent approach.

" There's going to be beautiful blood spilled in this city, " Alessandro Ferreira Soares, a parachutist, told me if Lula takes The Presidency . " I'm prepared to kill all the socialists and communists in The World . "

It's these ominous threats that make people worried. These next four weeks are going to be Intense - and personal. With two powerful political foes now going head-to-head, The Campaign steps up several notches.

There's everything to play for in this presidential race - and everything to lose if you're on the wrong side. We saw political violence in the run-up to The First round and there's real fear there will be more of that ahead of the run-off.

Source of news: bbc.com