Lula flips 2.2 million vote deficit to win fourth term
The 80-year-old leader defeated Flávio Bolsonaro by 4.3 million votes after a turnout surge erased his early October disadvantage.
By Elizabeth Turner ·
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a fourth term as Brazil’s president on Sunday, defeating far-right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro by a margin of 4.3 million votes. With 99% of ballots tallied, Lula captured 51.75% of the vote while Bolsonaro received 48.25%. The result erased a deficit of 2.2 million votes that Lula held after the first round in early October.
The political shift unfolded over three weeks following the initial vote. In the first round, Brazil recorded a record abstention rate of 21.08%, a factor that disproportionately hurt Lula because his supporters often live far from polling stations. For the runoff, abstention dropped to 19.21%. This increase in voter participation provided the momentum necessary to reverse the earlier standings.
Historical context underscores the rarity of this outcome. Since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s, no candidate who finished second in the first round has ever won the runoff. Lula’s victory ends a period of uncertainty that had left progressive supporters concerned about his political future.
Reactions to the result were immediate and visible. Reginaldo Lopes, a key ally of Lula, described the moment of confirmation as feeling incredible. He stated that Brazil was sending a message to the world regarding the extreme right and that the country would now reorganize its democratic forces. In São Paulo, hundreds gathered on Paulista Avenue on Sunday evening to watch the count, waving red flags with Lula’s face.
The victory also marks a strategic setback for the Bolsonaro family. Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, lives under house arrest in Brasília. He had expected to be freed and appointed to a government role if his son won. His son, Flávio, watched the count in Brasília, where the confirmation of the loss was met with anger.
Internationally, the result disrupts the Latin American strategy of US President Donald Trump. Trump had anticipated that Brazil would join a bloc of pro-Trump leaders, including Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia, Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, José Antonio Kast in Chile, and Javier Milei in Argentina. Lula’s win interrupts that alignment.
Lula’s path to the presidency began in the late 1970s as a union leader in São Paulo’s industrial suburbs. Born into rural poverty, he lost three presidential bids before becoming Brazil’s first elected working-class president in 2002. He served two consecutive terms, returned to office in 2022 after defeating Jair Bolsonaro, and now begins his fourth term as an 80-year-old leader.
Source: The Guardian
