Caption: Brazil’s President and presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
In Brief
- Shock comeback: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, turning 81, has secured a historic fourth term by more than 4.4 million votes, overturning a first-round defeat after a massive mobilisation by young and left-wing voters.
- Contested result: Defeated right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro—echoing his father Jair’s refusal to concede in 2022—called for the vote to be annulled over polling extensions, though key conservative allies and the electoral court have accepted the outcome.
- Global and market reaction: While world leaders across the political spectrum congratulated Lula, Bolsonaro ally US President Donald Trump remained notably silent, and Brazilian markets tumbled nearly 17 percent over fears of increased social spending.
By David Salazar with Fran Blandy in Rio de Janeiro
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) – World leaders congratulated Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his shock election win on Monday, with US President Donald Trump notably absent from the chorus and the veteran leftist’s defeated rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, staying mum after refusing to concede the loss.
Brazil’s markets tumbled nearly 17 percent and the dollar surged against the real in response to the re-election of Lula, who promised voters more government spending on social programmes at a time of soaring public debt.
Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, made a dramatic comeback after his defeat to Bolsonaro in the first-round vote fired up the left on the streets and social media in a massive mobilisation to secure him a fourth term in office.
Right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, cried foul and called for the election to be annulled after polling was extended for two hours due to transport problems in some cities at Lula’s request.
Although Flavio Bolsonaro had also requested an extension in some regions due to heavy rains, he described the broader extension as “unacceptable” and a “dirty trick.”
He was silent the day after the vote, as congratulations rolled in for Lula from world leaders on both sides of the political divide.
European nations, Russia, China, India, South Africa and others sent their wishes to Lula.
Several right-wing governments in Latin America — who are close to Trump — accepted the victory, with Colombia’s Abelardo de la Espriella saying that even though he had backed Bolsonaro: “When the people speak at the ballot box, their will must be respected, for it is sacred.”
Trump, an ally of the Bolsonaro family, has yet to comment.
An echo of his father’s loss
Flavio Bolsonaro’s rejection of the results echoed that of his father, who never acknowledged his defeat to Lula in the 2022 elections.
Tension over that result led to hundreds of Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters storming government buildings a week after Lula’s inauguration to demand the military intervene.
Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for an attempted coup after he was convicted of trying to stop Lula from taking office.
Electoral court chief Kassio Nunes Marques, a Bolsonaro appointee to the Supreme Court, hailed the “successful polls” and said there “were no changes” resulting from the decision to extend voting, even if it did create difficulties.
Another Bolsonaro ally, evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, said in a video on X: “I deeply regret the outcome, but this is the decision of the Brazilian people.”
Flavio’s brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States, where he has lobbied Trump’s administration to pressure Brazil, said in a video on social media that the vote had been “rigged” and called for “international pressure.”
Eduardo told a US podcast two days before the election that “if my brother does not win, I am in favour that he would leave the country,” citing investigations against him.
Brazilian police are probing Flavio Bolsonaro for corruption over the financing of a biopic about his father, “Dark Horse.”
– ‘Rebellious youth’ –
Lula pulled in around 4.4 million more votes than his rival, totalling over 64.2 million on his seventh go at the presidency — the highest number ever counted in Brazil.
“The margin was quite significant, so I think it’ll be really hard to convince voters that this is the result of vote rigging,” said Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
He said that while Lula’s campaign jolted awake after the first-round defeat, Flavio’s initial victory “was poison” for his own campaign, as aides publicly jockeyed for key posts and he projected an air of overconfidence.
Flavio even held a video call with Colombia’s De la Espriella, discussing bilateral cooperation on security and inviting him to his inauguration.
Lula’s re-energised campaign to the cry of “Never Again Bolsonaro,” urging people to go out and vote, saw the abstention rate fall from 21 percent to 19 percent in the run-off.
The proportion of spoiled and blank votes also decreased.
“I owe this victory to the rebellious youth who rose up to defend democracy,” Lula told jubilant supporters in Sao Paulo on Sunday night.
Brazil’s bitter campaign was marked by insults, scandal and fear-mongering from both sides.
It was “the victory of fear over Bolsonaro’s return,” political analyst Thomas Traumann told AFP
