The incumbent left-wing Brazilian President, in September, accused the White House of planning to interfere in the election, with Mr da Silva specifically naming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as someone who was “very closely connected to Bolsonaro’s people”.Mr da Silva warned that Mr Bolsonaro, if elected, risked handing sovereignty to Washington.Democratic lawmakers, picking up on Lula’s rhetoric, wrote to the State Department earlier this year claiming Washington of using “diplomatic, economic, and political pressure in ways that risk weakening [Brazil’s] democratic institutions [and] undermining confidence in Brazil’s electoral process”.The White House has strongly rejected any claims of electoral interference.Lula also pointed to a track record of falling poverty and inequality, while unemployment, illiteracy and deforestation hit record lows while on the campaign trail.