Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was re-elected president of Brazil for a fourth term after a close race that defied polling predictions and influenced the political direction of Latin America.
The result does not bring an end to the campaign’s fierce political confrontation. His rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, has challenged the result and said he will seek to have the election annulled.
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In the second round, held yesterday, Lula received 51.79% of the vote, while conservative Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, secured 48.21%. According to the final results, 64.25 million citizens voted for Lula, compared with 59.82 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of more than 4.43 million votes.
The political significance of the victory was heightened by the fact that Flavio Bolsonaro had finished first in the first round, creating the impression that the country could return to right-wing rule.
Unlike Argentina, Chile and Colombia, where right-wing candidates had received strong support from U.S. President Donald Trump, Brazil did not follow the same path. Latin America’s largest country remains one of the region’s few major progressive strongholds.
In his first reaction after the results were released, in São Paulo, Lula attributed the victory to civic mobilization and the will to protect democratic institutions. He said Brazilians voted because they considered their participation essential to defending democracy.
The defeat marks another political blow for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who led the country from 2019 to 2022. He is serving a 27-year house arrest sentence for an attempted coup aimed at ousting Lula after his defeat in the previous presidential election.
