Brazil highway police blockades fan voter-suppression fears

FILE PHOTO: Agents of the Federal Highway Police are seen during the day of a news conference of Brazil's Minister of Justice Anderson Torres at the headquarters of the Federal Highway Police in Brasilia, Brazil, October 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Widespread allegations of illegal roadblocks by Brazil's Federal Highway Police (PRF) in the poor northeast of Brazil sparked fears of potential vote suppression that could benefit far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in Sunday's tense runoff election.

Brazilians cast their votes on Sunday in a fraught second-round vote between Bolsonaro and leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The president wants to consolidate his conservative overhaul of the country, while Lula vows more social spending and state-run economic policies.