Lula wins Brazil runoff, securing fourth term after trailing in first round
President Lula beat Flávio Bolsonaro with 51.79%. According to CNN, he is the first candidate since 1989 to win after finishing second in the first round.
Archive image · Photo: Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won the runoff against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. With all polling stations counted, the 80-year-old received 64,256,232 votes, or 51.79% of valid votes, while Bolsonaro got 59,826,041 votes, or 48.21%. The margin is about 4.4 million votes, and turnout was 80.78%, according to The Rio Times. The Superior Electoral Court declared Lula the winner shortly after 9 p.m. Brasília time (1 a.m. CET).
In the first round on Oct. 4, Bolsonaro had led 47% to 45%. According to CNN, Lula is the first candidate since direct presidential elections returned in 1989 to win a runoff after finishing second in the first round. He campaigned largely on the cost of living and backed a constitutional amendment, passed this month, that shortens the workweek. His fourth, non-consecutive term begins on Jan. 5, 2027.
In his victory speech, Lula called the result "a defeat for denialism and lies," according to AP, and said: "This country will not accept being anyone's backyard." Governing will not be easy: Al Jazeera describes the incoming Congress as the most right-wing in recent memory. The U.S. administration had backed the Bolsonaro family and last year imposed 50% tariffs on certain Brazilian goods. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was watching the election but declined to endorse a candidate.