Brazilian Runoff: Lula Defies Regional Trend

Brazil’s electoral court declared Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the winner of the presidential runoff on Sunday.

Lula secured 51.8 percent of the total vote, edging out Flávio Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes.

The result maintains a distance between Latin America’s largest economy and the White House, where President Donald Trump has seen right-of-center allies gain ground in the region.

Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, now joins Donald Trump and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega as the oldest sitting presidents in the Americas.

The victory confirms a non-consecutive fourth term for the veteran leader, with the next mandate beginning on January 5, 2027.

The evening was marked by confusion at polling stations across the country.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ruled three minutes before the scheduled end of voting to keep polls open for two additional hours.

Zanin granted the request following appeals from both candidates. Lula cited transportation issues in São Paulo and Salvador, while Bolsonaro pointed to heavy rains in the south.

Bolsonaro’s camp argues the extension invalidated the vote, while Lula’s team notes that Zanin served as Lula’s lawyer previously.

At a polling station in Rio de Janeiro, voting machines were switched off minutes after the original closing time and could not be restarted.

In Brasilia, volunteers debated whether to stay after the announcement, with most leaving 15 to 20 minutes after polls closed.

Lula addressed supporters in São Paulo, praising the Brazilian people and pledging to respect all citizens regardless of gender or religion. He also criticized his opponent directly. “This was a defeat for denialism and lies. I must confess that every time I attended a debate, I felt embarrassed,” he said. He added that Brazil would not accept being anyone’s backyard, emphasizing national sovereignty against external pressure, including U.S. tariffs on the $2.6 trillion economy. Supporters in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo celebrated in the streets, with cars honking and crowds gathering on major arteries. Rodrigo Valentim, a 51-year-old businessman and Bolsonaro supporter, expressed concern over the economic impact. “I don’t understand how people can vote for Lula,” he said. “The country is collapsing.” Bolsonaro had not yet responded to the result at the time of the announcement. The outcome marks the first time since 1985 that the second-highest vote-getter in the first round won the presidency. Bolsonaro had led Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round earlier this month. Lula’s campaign reorganized after that loss, appealing to young voters and boosting government initiatives to address cost of living and security concerns. Both candidates face corruption suspicions involving family members and allies. Lula spent 580 days in prison on convictions that were later annulled by the Supreme Court. He began his political career in the 1970s as a union leader and helped found the Workers' Party. He was elected president in 2002, re-elected in 2006, and succeeded by Dilma Rousseff in 2010. Rousseff was impeached in 2016, and Lula was briefly jailed in 2018 before winning in 2022. The next term will likely be the final chapter of his political career.