Supporters of Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clung to hope on Sunday after right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro gained the upper hand in the first round of Brazil's presidential election to force a runoff.
Bolsonaro, son of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, won 47 percent of the vote against Lula's 45 percent.
Paulista Avenue, the main artery of Sao Paulo and typically a site for celebrations by Lula supporters, had a subdued mood on Sunday night.
Gustavo Maximiliano walked down the avenue worried, though he said he was confident that Lula would win the runoff on October 25.
"The comeback starts now," the 42-year-old filmmaker told AFP.
"All of Lula's elections are tough and tight, but he always wins in the second round."
That was what happened in the three elections in which Lula won the presidency, including in 2022 when he beat Jair Bolsonaro.
Red t-shirts, the color of the president's Workers' Party, stayed largely hidden under jackets.
In a statement to the media, Lula acknowledged that he had expected to win in the first round, but promised to prevail "in overtime."
Aline Araujo, a 33-year-old bank employee, said she is convinced the president will be able to draw on his more than half a century of political experience against the 45-year-old Bolsonaro, who was a little-known senator until a few months ago.
"I still trust Lula. I'm with Lula until the end," she said.
"Lula knows how to play better," said Marcos Souza, 29, warning that "you can't downplay" the fact that "the far right has enormous strength."
Lula will have three weeks to flip the result in a country that appears to want change.
Workers' Party President Edinho Silva told reporters that the campaign's strategy will be to "confront projects and call on Brazil to reflect."