International

Lula’s lead holds steady ahead of Brazil vote: poll

Photo: Maira Erlich / AFP

AFP

Leftist front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s lead over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro remains steady at six percentage points ahead of Brazil’s October 30 presidential runoff election, according to a poll released Friday.

Lula has 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Bolsonaro, the Datafolha institute found, the same numbers as its last poll on October 7.

The figures exclude voters who plan to cast blank or spoiled ballots — five percent of respondents, Datafolha found.

The margin of error for the poll, which was based on interviews with 2,898 people Thursday and Friday, was plus or minus two percentage points.

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The latest numbers came as a battle brewed in Brazil over pollsters, which largely underestimated Bolsonaro’s support in the first-round election on October 2.

Datafolha, for instance, had found Bolsonaro trailing Lula by 14 percentage points on the eve of the first round.

In the event, the incumbent finished just five points shy: 48 percent to 43 percent.

Bolsonaro cried foul after the election, accusing polling firms of trying to muzzle his popularity.

“We beat the lie,” he said.

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Federal police reportedly opened an investigation into polling firms Thursday at the request of Bolsonaro’s justice ministry over alleged “criminal practices.”

Competition regulators, meanwhile, opened a separate investigation into whether the firms had carried out an “orchestrated action” to “manipulate” the elections.

However, the head of the Superior Electoral Tribunal, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the investigations halted late Thursday, saying they were “usurping” electoral officials’ authority.

The probes “appear to show an intent to satisfy (Bolsonaro’s) will,” wrote Moraes, instructing electoral officials to open an investigation of their own into a possible “abuse of power.”

Bolsonaro hit back at Moraes, who doubles as a Supreme Court justice and is a frequent target of attacks from the president.

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“The polling firms are going to keep lying. How many votes are they dragging to the other side? People generally vote for whomever’s in the lead,” Bolsonaro said.

Supporters of Brazil's former President (2003-2010) and presidential candidate for the leftist Workers Party (PT), Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, take pictures during a rally of the candidate in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, on Friday, October 14, 2022. - President Jair Bolsonaro, 67, exceeded polling predictions by coming a closer-than-expected second to ex-president Lula da Silva, 76, in a first election round on October 2. The two men will face off in a deeply polarized second round on October 30. (Photo by Maira Erlich / AFP)

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.