In a Sunday election runoff, leftist Luis Inacio Lula da Silva defeated president Jair Bolsonaro, capping a spectacular comeback for Lula and the fall of Brazil’s most right-wing administration in decades.
According to the Supreme Electoral Court, Lula received 50.9% of the vote versus Bolsonaro’s 49.1 per cent, making him the victor. The installation of 77-year-old Lula is set for January 1.
The vote was a backlash to Bolsonaro’s fiery far-right populism, who came from Congress’ back benches to form a novel conservative coalition but lost popularity when Brazil saw one of the highest death tolls from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bolsonaro, 67, first said nothing about the outcome despite his years of making unfounded accusations that voting fraud is rife in Brazil. According to individuals who spoke to Reuters, the electoral officials have taken security measures in case he contests the results.
Lula posted a picture of the Brazilian flag beneath his left hand along with the word “Democracy” on Twitter. He was missing his little finger due to an injury he had as a metalworker decades earlier.
Before his address, he was met by jubilant supporters at a rally on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo. In a video that has been making the rounds on social media, vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin and campaign workers hopped up and down while yelling, “It’s time Jair, it’s time to leave already.”
Messages of congratulations were sent to Lula from world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, American President Joe Biden, and Alberto Fernandez of Argentina.
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When he was president from 2003 to 2010, Lula promised to bring back the state-driven economic growth and social policies that had helped millions of people escape poverty. He also vows to make Brazil a leader in international climate negotiations and stop the devastation of the Amazon rainforest, which is at a 15-year high.
Following historic leftist triumphs in Colombia and Chile’s elections, his victory solidifies a new “pink tide” in Latin America and echoes a regional political change that propelled Lula to international prominence twenty years prior.
(with inputs from agencies)
