巴西利亚10月22日电——71岁的罗尼·阿马拉尔（Rony Amaral）非常担心，如果右翼巴西总统候选人弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗（Flavio Bolsonaro）在周日的决胜投票中获胜，将会大幅削减医疗和养老金开支，因此他转而支持左翼候选人路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦（Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva）。
BRASILIA, Oct 22 - Rony Amaral, 71, is terrified right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro will slash healthcare and pension spending if he wins Sunday's runoff vote, so he is supporting leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva instead.
阿马拉尔和他的91岁母亲艾莎（Aisa）是巴西这个快速老龄化国家中不断增长的选民群体的一部分，他们可能会在这场势均力敌的选举中发挥决定性作用。
Amaral and his 91-year-old mother Aisa form part of a growing cohort of voters in fast-ageing Brazil who could play a decisive role in the razor-tight election.
根据政府统计机构巴西地理统计局（IBGE）的数据，自2010年以来，60岁以上选民数量增长了74%，他们如今占巴西选民总数的近25%，政治分量日益增加。
Since 2010, the number of voters over 60 has grown by 74%, according to IBGE, the government statistics agency, and they today make up nearly 25% of Brazil's electorate, increasing their political weight.
民调显示，他们当中支持卢拉的比例不断上升。卢拉在其三届总统任期内，监管实施了巴西历史上规模最大、最慷慨的福利计划之一。在周日的投票到来之际，他的支持率与博尔索纳罗不相上下。
Polls show a growing share of them support Lula, who has overseen one of the largest and most generous welfare programs in Brazil's history during his three presidential terms. He is neck and neck with Bolsonaro going into Sunday's vote.
“我看到的是60岁以上的人有一种将被剥夺照顾的恐惧，”阿马拉尔说，“甚至一些右翼人士也有这种恐惧。”民调机构夸斯特（Quaest）的数据显示，卢拉在老年群体中以48%的投票意向领先。民调发现，42%的人计划投票给博尔索纳罗，他在该特定群体中的支持率低于其父亲、前总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗（Jair Bolsonaro）在2022年总统大选同一阶段的支持率。
"What I see is a fear among people over 60 that they will be left without care," Amaral said. "Even some on the right share this fear." According to pollster Quaest, Lula leads among seniors with 48% of voting intention. It found 42% plan on voting for Bolsonaro, who scores less highly than his father, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, did among the same demographic at this stage in the 2022 presidential election.
被忽视的人口群体 民调机构Ideia首席执行官西拉·舒尔曼（Cila Schulman）表示，尽管老年人的重要性日益增加，但在巴西的竞选活动中，他们传统上一直被忽视。
OVERLOOKED DEMOGRAPHIC Despite their growing importance, seniors have traditionally been overlooked in Brazilian campaigns, said Cila Schulman, chief executive of polling firm Ideia.
卢拉的竞选团队目前正积极瞄准被称为“卢拉一代”的群体——即70岁以上的老年人，他们的年龄接近80岁的总统本人——希望他们的支持能够帮助跨越第一轮投票中博尔索纳罗与卢拉之间两个百分点的差距。
Lula's campaign is now actively targeting the so-called "Lula generation" — seniors aged over 70, close in age to the 80-year-old president — hoping their support can help overcome the two-point gap between Bolsonaro and Lula in the first round.
该党派已经推出了一个针对老年人的网站，旨在说服更多老年选民前往投票站。
The party has launched a website aimed at seniors with the aim of persuading more older voters to go to the polls.
现年76岁、住在圣保罗北部一个低收入社区的安娜·多斯雷伊斯（Ana dos Reis）说：“第一轮投票时，我并没有什么热情，但现在竞争如此激烈，我要去了。谁知道呢，也许我的投票正是卢拉获胜所需要的？”
"In the first round, I wasn't enthusiastic, but now that the race is so close, I'm going," said Ana dos Reis, 76, who lives in a low-income neighborhood in northern Sao Paulo. "Who knows, maybe my vote is what Lula needs to win?" FEAR OF LOSING WELFARE GAINS Unlike younger voters, who polls show tend to back Bolsonaro, older voters' support for Lula is linked to memories of improvements in living standards, including minimum wage hikes, investment in public health, and other benefits linked to Lula's earlier governments, Schulman said.
害怕失去福利收益 舒尔曼表示，与民调显示倾向于支持博尔索纳罗的年轻选民不同，老年选民对卢拉的支持与对生活水平提高的记忆息息相关，包括最低工资上涨、对公共卫生的投资以及与卢拉早期政府相关的其他福利。“这是一段年轻人没有的记忆，”舒尔曼说。
"It's a memory that younger people don't have," Schulman said.
一些老年人担心，在博尔索纳罗政府领导下，他们的福利可能会减少，因为他面临着削减巴西沉重公共债务的压力，并可能将福利支出作为目标。
Some seniors fear their benefits could diminish under a Bolsonaro government, since he is under pressure to trim Brazil's heavy public debt, and could target welfare spending.
根据现任左翼执政党劳工党（PT）的研究，其他人则担心博尔索纳罗获胜对巴西民主意味着什么，他们还记在前总统博尔索纳罗在巴西上届大选中输给卢拉后，其支持者于2023年1月份袭击政府建筑的情景。
Others are concerned about what a Bolsonaro win would mean for Brazilian democracy, remembering how supporters of former President Bolsonaro attacked government buildings in January 2023 after he lost to Lula in Brazil's last election, according to research from the leftist incumbent's Workers' Party, known as PT.
在巴西北部马瑙斯附近，78岁的奥尔加·达克·皮门特尔（Olga Darc Pimentel）对路透社表示，她对这场决胜投票深感担忧。
Near Manaus, in northern Brazil, Olga Darc Pimentel, 78, told Reuters she was deeply concerned by the runoff.
皮门特尔在谈到老博尔索纳罗对冠状病毒疫情备受批评的处理方式时说：“我们还记得这里大流行的恐怖。”她补充说，她计划投票给卢拉，并鼓励其他人也这样做。
"We remember the terror of the pandemic here," Pimentel said, referring to the elder Bolsonaro's widely criticized handling of the coronavirus outbreak, adding that she plans to vote for Lula and is encouraging others to do the same.
博尔索纳罗的竞选团队没有回应置评请求，但他依然可以指望获得大量老年选民的支持。
Bolsonaro's campaign did not respond to requests for comment, but he can still count on plenty of elderly voters.
73岁的退休公务员伊萨尔蒂娜·罗莎·佩克索托（Isaltina Rosa Peixoto）表示，她相信博尔索纳罗将继承并刷新其父亲的政治遗产。
Isaltina Rosa Peixoto, 73, a retired civil servant, said she believes Bolsonaro will continue and refresh his father's legacy.
她在里约热内卢的一次支持博尔索纳罗的集会上说：“我一点也不害怕，因为我知道他会做最有利于大家的事。”
"I'm not afraid because I know he'll do what's best," she said at a pro-Bolsonaro rally in Rio de Janeiro.