Crime is at the top of voters' concerns in Brazil ahead of Sunday's national elections. Many are calling for tougher measures — part of a broader rightward shift across Latin America.

Transcript

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Brazilians want tougher measures to combat crime. Polls show that's their top issue going into this Sunday's elections, and that's not good news for Brazil's leftist president. He's perceived to be soft on criminals, and he's locked in a tight campaign against the conservative son of the country's former far-right president. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

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CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Robson Florencio hits the turn signal as he heads on to a busy boulevard in Belem, his working-class neighborhood on Sao Paulo's eastern side.

ROBSON FLORENCIO: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: "You're about to see all the people living on the streets, taking and selling drugs anywhere you see a shuttered shop," he says. "We don't go out at night anymore," adds the 38-year-old father of two small kids.

FLORENCIO: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: We head into one of Sao Paulo's more chic, or affluent, areas. He points to a tree-lined median. About two months ago, an assailant ran up to his car, smashed the window and snatched the cell phone right out of the hand of his client sitting in the backseat. It doesn't matter where you are, he says.

FLORENCIO: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: "Violence hits even where the rich people live," he adds. While public security data shows a drop in Brazil's homicide rate and in violent robberies, street crime remains high in many cities. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are infamous for snatch-and-grab cell phone theft.

Crime dominates conservative presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro's regular stump speech. He's considered more moderate than his bombastic father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, now jailed for attempting a coup. However, the younger Bolsonaro has taken to waving a huge plastic machete at recent rallies.

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FLAVIO BOLSONARO: (Non-English language spoken).

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KAHN: "Attention all rapists, abuser of women and children - chemical castration is coming for you," he says. Crime and insecurity used to be key issues in only local races since Brazil's states run most public safety forces. But Roberto Simone, a Brazilian risk analyst, says this year is different. It's become key in the top ticket races and presidential contest.

ROBERTO SIMON: It is definitely mobilizing voters. And generally speaking, that's bad news for the left. It is a topic that traditionally favors more conservative candidates.

KAHN: On the campaign trail, incumbent leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talks more about moving people out of poverty and improving opportunities as a way to fight crime, along with better coordination to take down crime bosses.

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PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: "Working together, I guarantee the Brazilian people will win," he recently told the hosts of a popular global network news show. Such long-anoterm reform messages don't excite Latin Americans as much as the iron fist or Mano Dura approach to fighting crime. Right-wing candidates have chalked up big wins in the region with tough-on-crime campaigns, says Ben Gedan of the Washington-based Stimson Center.

BEN GEDAN: In the short term, voters want to see more police on the streets and more criminals in jail or in the morgue.

KAHN: The last seven presidential contests in Latin America all went to conservatives and far-right candidates.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: At a Bolsonaro rally overlooking Copacabana's beach, 63-year-old Marli Alves says she voted for Lula four years ago. But with what she says is out-of-control crime, she's switching to Bolsonaro.

MARLI ALVES: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: "He defends us," she says. "The left just protects the criminals." Polls show the race is a statistical tie and most likely will go to a runoff later this month. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.

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