Lula flips 6.5 million votes to secure fourth term
The 80-year-old former president defeated Flávio Bolsonaro by 3.5 percentage points after a dramatic surge in voter turnout.
By Amit Chukwu ·
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured his fourth term as president of Brazil on Sunday. The 80-year-old leader defeated far-right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, in a runoff election. With nearly 99% of ballots counted, Lula captured 51.75% of the vote. Bolsonaro received 48.25%.
The victory marks a sharp reversal from the first round held in early October. At that time, Lula trailed by 2.2 million votes. By the end of the second round, he led by 4.3 million. This shift represents a change of roughly 6.5 million votes in favor of the incumbent.
Voter turnout drove the swing. The first round saw a record 21.08% abstention rate, which hurt Lula disproportionately because his base lives farther from polling stations. In the runoff, abstention dropped to 19.21%. Reginaldo Lopes, a key ally of Lula, called the result incredible. He said the outcome sends a message to the world about the extreme right.
Lula’s political career spans nearly five decades. He rose as a union leader in São Paulo in the late 1970s. He lost presidential bids in 1989, 1994, and 1998 before winning in 2002. He served two terms, left office, and returned in 2022 to defeat Jair Bolsonaro, the father of this year’s challenger.
The result is a major setback for the Bolsonaro family. Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. He is under house arrest in Brasília and had hoped to join the government if his son won. His son watched the count there and was met with anger and bewilderment when the result was confirmed.
The loss also impacts US President Donald Trump, who viewed Brazil as a key ally in Latin America. Trump had hoped to add Brazil to a list of pro-Trump leaders in the region. Those leaders include Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia, Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, José Antonio Kast in Chile, and Javier Milei in Argentina.
Supporters demonstrated their strength in the days before the vote. More than a million people gathered on Copacabana beach in Rio, while a larger crowd marched in São Paulo. On Sunday evening, hundreds returned to Paulista Avenue to watch the count. Camilo Buarque, 35, said the event proved this is democracy. Lucas Lopes, 32, noted that an attempt by pro-Bolsonaro politicians to disrupt the vote by sabotaging public transport failed.
Source: The Guardian
