Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won reelection on Sunday, securing a historic fourth term after a runoff vote against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Brazil’s electoral court reported Lula took 51.76 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 48.24 percent, according to Reuters, a margin of more than 4 million votes.
Lula, 80, finished second in the first round earlier in October, then added more than 10 million votes between rounds, CNN reported. His win makes him the first Brazilian president to win a fourth term, and the first candidate since the country’s return to democracy in 1985 to win a runoff after finishing second in the first round.
Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump, told supporters he would not accept the result and would seek to have it annulled, CNN reported. He pointed to a Supreme Court ruling that extended voting by two hours on Sunday. By Monday, however, his Liberal Party said it recognised the result, according to CNN Brasil, even as it asked for the issues raised to be clarified.
The campaign turned on the cost of living, crime and corruption, and on Brazil’s relationship with the United States, USA Today reported. Lula accused the American government of intervening to help his opponent, while Bolsonaro touted his close relationship with the Trump administration. Trump did not formally endorse Bolsonaro ahead of the vote.
Lula told supporters after the result that voters had acted to preserve democracy. “This country doesn’t accept being anybody’s colony,” he said, according to USA Today. His victory also breaks a run of right-wing wins across Latin America since January 2025, making Brazil the first country in the region where the left has won in that period, Reuters reported.
Source: USA Today
