<p class="title">Brazil is holding a presidential run-off election Sunday. A far-right politician promising a hard line on crime and corruption, Jair Bolsonaro, is the frontrunner.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>Here's what you need to know</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">Brazil is one of the most important emerging economies, a member of the "BRICS" club and Latin America's biggest country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Whoever ends up as president will be at the helm of the world's eighth-biggest economy, an oil producer and major energy consumer whose chief trading partner is China.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yet it's only three decades since Brazil shucked off a military dictatorship. And it has just emerged from its worst-ever recession, which wiped out much of a preceding decade of prosperity.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Called a "Tropical Trump" by some, Bolsonaro is controversial and polarizing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The former army captain has been a congressman since 1991 and is known for offensive remarks against women, gays, blacks and the poor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But he also has a healthy lead in the polls -- attributed to his tough-guy promises to crack down on crime and graft, and his canny use of Facebook to reach out to voters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was stabbed in the stomach by an attacker at a campaign rally on September 6, which put him in the hospital for three weeks. Since then, he has campaigned entirely on social media.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To his supporters, the episode only bolstered his image as a "Myth" -- their nickname for him -- and underlined the need for the ruthless crackdown on crime he is promising.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Although a Catholic, he has the backing of an influential evangelical bloc in Congress that would help him govern if he wins.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But he has inspired massive protests by Brazilian women, under the slogan "Not him."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He came close to winning the election outright in the first-round vote on October 7.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a field of 13 candidates, he won 46 per cent of the vote, to 29 per cent for runner-up Fernando Haddad, his opponent in Sunday's run-off.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bolsonaro had an eight- to a 10-point lead going into the second round, according to two final polls released Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pollster Ibope gave him a lead of 54 per cent to 46 per cent for Haddad, while Datafolha gave him 55 per cent to 45.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Haddad is the Workers' Party's choice to replace popular but imprisoned ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence for bribery.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The leftist has made up ground -- he trailed by as much as 18 points two weeks ago -- but it would take a dramatic surge for him to win.</p>.<p class="bodytext">If he does enter Planalto, Brazil's equivalent of the White House, Bolsonaro has promised big changes -- though he would have to work with a divided Congress where the Workers' Party still holds sway.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He wants looser gun laws for "good" civilians to help counter rife street assaults and murders, and for the army to go after organized crime.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Political corruption will be quashed and the government streamlined, he has said. Brazil would sell off state enterprises to bring down spiralling public debt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In foreign relations, Brasilia would "cease coddling murderous dictatorships," his platform says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">That looks like a reference particularly to neighbouring Venezuela, whose implosion under the rule of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing over the border into Brazil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Instead, it would turn more toward countries such as the United States, Israel and Italy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We've got to give Socialism, Communism, a kick up the ass," he said in one interview.</p>
<p class="title">Brazil is holding a presidential run-off election Sunday. A far-right politician promising a hard line on crime and corruption, Jair Bolsonaro, is the frontrunner.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>Here's what you need to know</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">Brazil is one of the most important emerging economies, a member of the "BRICS" club and Latin America's biggest country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Whoever ends up as president will be at the helm of the world's eighth-biggest economy, an oil producer and major energy consumer whose chief trading partner is China.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yet it's only three decades since Brazil shucked off a military dictatorship. And it has just emerged from its worst-ever recession, which wiped out much of a preceding decade of prosperity.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Called a "Tropical Trump" by some, Bolsonaro is controversial and polarizing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The former army captain has been a congressman since 1991 and is known for offensive remarks against women, gays, blacks and the poor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But he also has a healthy lead in the polls -- attributed to his tough-guy promises to crack down on crime and graft, and his canny use of Facebook to reach out to voters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was stabbed in the stomach by an attacker at a campaign rally on September 6, which put him in the hospital for three weeks. Since then, he has campaigned entirely on social media.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To his supporters, the episode only bolstered his image as a "Myth" -- their nickname for him -- and underlined the need for the ruthless crackdown on crime he is promising.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Although a Catholic, he has the backing of an influential evangelical bloc in Congress that would help him govern if he wins.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But he has inspired massive protests by Brazilian women, under the slogan "Not him."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He came close to winning the election outright in the first-round vote on October 7.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a field of 13 candidates, he won 46 per cent of the vote, to 29 per cent for runner-up Fernando Haddad, his opponent in Sunday's run-off.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bolsonaro had an eight- to a 10-point lead going into the second round, according to two final polls released Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pollster Ibope gave him a lead of 54 per cent to 46 per cent for Haddad, while Datafolha gave him 55 per cent to 45.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Haddad is the Workers' Party's choice to replace popular but imprisoned ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence for bribery.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The leftist has made up ground -- he trailed by as much as 18 points two weeks ago -- but it would take a dramatic surge for him to win.</p>.<p class="bodytext">If he does enter Planalto, Brazil's equivalent of the White House, Bolsonaro has promised big changes -- though he would have to work with a divided Congress where the Workers' Party still holds sway.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He wants looser gun laws for "good" civilians to help counter rife street assaults and murders, and for the army to go after organized crime.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Political corruption will be quashed and the government streamlined, he has said. Brazil would sell off state enterprises to bring down spiralling public debt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In foreign relations, Brasilia would "cease coddling murderous dictatorships," his platform says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">That looks like a reference particularly to neighbouring Venezuela, whose implosion under the rule of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing over the border into Brazil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Instead, it would turn more toward countries such as the United States, Israel and Italy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We've got to give Socialism, Communism, a kick up the ass," he said in one interview.</p>