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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the presidential election runoff held on October 25, AnewZ reported. The country’s Electoral Court confirmed the result. Lula defeated right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro to secure a fourth, non-consecutive presidential term.
Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, finished first in the election’s first round and sought to reinvigorate his father’s far-right political movement.
Lula’s re-election had appeared unlikely for a time. Years of corruption scandals and rising prices had weakened voters’ support for him and the Workers’ Party. Amid rapid changes in society, the former metalworker and trade union leader appeared to be struggling to adapt to the app-based economy and the growing number of informal workers.
Lula, 80, has scored another political comeback. He was jailed on corruption charges in 2018-2019. The charges were later annulled, clearing the way for him to defeat Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.
As votes were being counted, left-wing federal lawmaker Erika Hilton, who was with Lula in Sao Paulo, called him “a statesman, a giant” in an interview with Reuters.
Voter turnout helped Lula’s victory
Polling experts said higher-than-expected voter turnout played a role in Lula’s victory. Leonardo Barreto, co-founder of the consultancy Think Policy, said voters had preferred Lula’s familiar policy approach to Bolsonaro’s new offering.
“Today, people are choosing between change that could bring uncertainty and a familiar path that guarantees certain rights,” Barreto said.
During the campaign, Lula highlighted his record from a period when poverty and inequality declined. During his third presidential term, unemployment, illiteracy and deforestation fell to record lows.
Lula said Bolsonaro would cut social assistance spending, reverse social progress and hand Brazil’s sovereignty to U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump’s State Department campaigned for the Bolsonaros’ return to power.
Lula’s victory prevented Trump from adding another ally to a bloc of right-wing governments in Latin America that support Washington’s security and migration agenda.
Former Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told Reuters that the left-wing leader would play an important role in creating balance in Latin America: “Lula is that balance.”
Lula cast himself as a defender of the working class
Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2011, campaigned on a blend of pragmatism and populism that he had developed over nearly half a century in national politics. He proposed a series of reforms aimed at improving the lives of workers and poor Brazilians.
In the final phase of the campaign, Lula pledged free public transport nationwide on weekends. The proposal requires formal submission to parliament. He also promised to increase by 15% the amount provided under a major social assistance program already in effect.
Lula also backed a constitutional amendment described as Brazil’s biggest labor reform in decades. It was approved by parliament with broad support.
